Return-An Avengers Fanfiction
by Marvelfan101
Summary: 3 months after the Manhattan crisis a new avenger has been recruited a Ms. Ali Henderson, also known as Phoenix, has been with the avengers for awhile now and she has to deal with things she has never delt with before love, and war...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Everything was hustle and bustle in New York; as usual cars of all kinds were racing down the road honking and some sputtering down the highway. People chattering and laughing, children whining over why they can't have a toy. Corporations were busing in their marketing process, towers and scaffoldings were built sky high but one that stood out from the rest was Stark Towers, Stark Towers was created by none other than Tony Stark; Obviously, it was built for the beginnings of the Stark Expo which he had high expectations for but Director Fury forced him to make it a home for the Avengers. And now we've moved in; who am I you ask? I'm Ali Henderson I'm 27 years old and have just been accepted into the Avengers, My power? I don't have a power exactly I'm just stealthy supposedly and flexible but I have horrible physical strength but I try to be tough and fight hard. Now let's get on with the story of how the Avengers see me and how we once again saved the world.

"Hey Sketches, wake up, Fury needs us downstairs" Said a voice, Sketches…that had to be Tony saying that he calls me Sketches because in my free time I draw every minute of the day. I was about to open my eyes when he prods me hard with his fist. I almost fell out of bed and I opened my eyes and glared at him "What the hell" I hissed trying to get up but the bed sheets were entangled in my legs and I fell to the floor in a pile of sheets. Stark snickered and helped me up "Come on Sour Patch" he sneered and dragged me downstairs. While we were waiting in the elevator I tried fixing my hair with my fingers; that didn't help any, irritated I asked "why did you wake me up but didn't give me time to get dressed and crap?" he just glanced at me and was surprisingly silent.

The door opened and there was Fury he looked impatient, with him was Natasha Romanov her jade green eyes looked up with a slight twinkle of humor in her eyes, along with Clint Barton sitting beside her with the same expression. Steve was standing close by his face was grim and Banner was across from him, he looked as if he was thinking. _This is so humiliating…coming to a meeting looking like…a slut but I always look this way pampered, so not that much of a difference really…_ Fury just gave me an approving nod but looked somewhat amused at my appearance in cupcake PJ's to an avengers meeting, I walked over and sat next to Natasha and gave her a quick smile she just gave me a tense nod and glanced back over to Fury. Tony sat down next to me and lashed out his tablet and began fiddling with it, I'm always in awe with technology and that's one of the reasons why I try to hang around Tony a lot he has a lot of cool tech and I love to see how it works, so I was a little distracted till he started looking at pictures that were…inappropriate.

"Since you all have a new place to stay" Fury began, slowly walking around the table "You guys are entitled to a break" I couldn't help but smile, even though people don't think I'm much of an asset in the avengers, a break would be great for us. "Till further notice" Fury said curtly, I began fiddling with my PJ shirt and began to get bored, I have horrible focus. Then before I knew it the meeting was over and I gladly left the room and went to go change, I took of my shirt and pants and looked for a suitable outfit. Yeah right! Suitable outfit my ass! I just slipped on a T-shirt and pants and put my hair in a ponytail the usual, I walked out of my room and looked to the left and saw Clint sneaking into Natasha's room _let me guess…sex? Nah…they haven't even admitted their feelings yet…there so slow like snails!_ Rolling her eyes she turned the right and walked over to the entertainment room. To the left of Ali there was a bar there was alcohol of all kinds and of course Tony was over there getting gassed. There was a huge flat screen-err hologram that worked like a television. And under it was a fireplace and close to the TV and fireplace was a couch. And off to the far left of that was a table and a hanging light with six chairs around it good for playing cards or other games then…for some reason there was a closet all by itself across from that, all by itself. But I suspected that, that was normal and went over in front of the TV and sat down the wood floor like a little kid and sat in the most uncomfortable looking position. Natasha came into the room looking like a spy as usual and walked over to the bar and shoved Tony aside to get a vodka, Clint came in shortly afterwards and made a beeline for the couch which startled me.

"What you haven't seen a Hawk land on a perch?" he jeered; I rolled my eyes at him and muttered a few incoherent words.

Later Bruce came in looking for Tony but to his disappointment he was too drunk to even help him, I felt sorry for Bruce, I would be more than happy to help him but I don't know anything about Chemo Nuclear Astro-Physics. I'm surprised I even remembered his studies! I walked up to him and asked "need any help Bruce? I don't know anything about, Chemo-Nu-your studies but I would be glad to help you" Ali stared at him waiting for a response her brown eyes searching his face for an answer, Bruce's eyes tried to avoid mine as he replied "No, but thanks I really need Tony on this one" I glanced back at him and rolled my eyes when he started laughing at Natasha getting a drink "Well" I began watching the billionaire "I could give him hot and cold showers" I said glancing at him. Bruce stared at me confused "You want him to take showers?" his face was priceless, his eyebrows were in a funny position and he looked utterly confused "No-"I couldn't help but laugh in the middle of my sentences "I mean give him coffee and then…ice cold water then coffee again etcetera, and it makes em' sober" Bruce just nodded and replied "You could try but I doubt you could hold him down"

I gave him a look as if to agree and told him to make some coffee he solemnly agreed I walked over to the drunken Billionaire and grabbed his arm and dragged him over to where the coffee was he just gave me a dumb look and said "Why would I drink _coffee? _When I have…" he lifted up his cubical glass and gave me a smirk "alcohol!" I just shook my head and snatched it out of his hands and gave him the coffee. Tony refused to take it stating "I don't like to be handed things"

"You don't like to be handed things my ass!" Ali snarled and shoved it into his hands, He gave me a surprised look and after hours of coaxing and shoving and cussing he was finally sober. He looked up at me his eyes were dull and dazed as he asked "What do you want Sketches?" I looked at him my brown eyes hard and stated "It's not what I want it's what _he _wants" Ali stated pointing her red fingertip at Bruce, Bruce was looking uncomfortable being at the center of this fight but he also looked amused at me fussing with him. Tony looked over at his friend and began to walk away but turned around and simply stated "I could have helped him without the showers"

"I highly doubt that" I said coldly walking away, I don't mind Tony it's just…he gets me in an irritable mood easily, I laugh at his smart ass jokes all the time but it's just when he gets on your last nerve. I walked over to the couch and was about to sit down when I noticed that Natasha and Clint were staring at me with a stunned look on his face, "What?" I said my voice raising, irritably, "Nothing" Natasha said sounding surprisingly sober after her drink "it's just I've never seen Tony obey someone as easily as you" I shrugged uncomfortable by the looks I got from them. "I have to agree" I whirled around to see Steve Rogers standing near the elevator door his bright green eyes were burning through my soul. I glanced at the avengers that surrounded me Natasha Romanov her jade green eyes were looking at me expecting a response, a response? For what? And Clint Barton was sitting next to Natasha his hazel eyes were watching my expression very closely. I swallowed and let out a loud exasperated sigh "Look I don't know what to tell you I'm just good at chewing out people I guess…" I put my hand on the back of my head and scratched my head indicating that I was uncomfortable with the conversation taking place. I walked out of the room trying to ignore the stares I got from them I glanced back they seemed to be on another topic, I went down the steps; yes there's steps in this tower surprisingly, and walked to the lab, I usually go there for the fun of it listening to the cool computer hologram sounds and just to relax, weird right? I think it is; I'm different from most girls you see on the street. I'm shy of course with new people but once I get to know them better I get more talkative around them, I tapped my code into the wall to be allowed in but Jarvis's voice said "I'm sorry Miss. Ali but you aren't allowed in the room yet" I rolled my eyes and leaned my head against the wall waiting trying every so often to get in but failed each time.

Then finally, Finally I was allowed in after…7 hours of waiting I walked in Tony was looking at me with an amused look on his face which bothered me for some reason, while Bruce pretended to be 'into his studies' I glanced at one man to the other and rolled my eyes and whipped out my sketch book. I brought my mechanical pencil and began to sketch some animals, and I was in the zone _Yep that's good…now outline it a bit darker…now do the eyes yes perfect…now for the tail… _I was in my world and no one could take me out of it.

"What the hell is that? A moose?" Tony said leaning in next to me, I glared at him but I couldn't wear my mask any longer and burst into laughter.

"No it's a cat smart ass" I retorted going back to sketching then was at a loss on the tail, and got irritated "Crap…" I fumed I hate it when this happens. "I can't get the tail right- I mean I can draw it sure but it's just not at level with the paws" I thought somebody was listening but turns out I was left to my work. Bruce was still working on…what ever that was; something that looks like nerves-probably trying to find a cure for his 'condition' and Tony, well, who knew what he was doing. I just shook my head and went to work I left the cats tail alone and went to something that I've been dying to draw, one thing from each avenger, like Iron man his helmet, Black Widow her gloves, Captain America his shield and Barton…well his arrow, and Bruce his glasses. So I tried starting with the Helmet…didn't work out how I thought it would the eyes looked evil while the chin part of it was too long and…cubical. So I kept trying till I noticed that everyone left the lab. I sighed and kept working then I got up and went over to the computer and typed in Iron Man helmet and boy…what a selection that came up on Google! But I soon found the perfect picture and left it up on the screen for a few minutes and the closed the window and left the computer running till it went to its screen saver. Then I had to shade it I was still a little sketchy on the eyes but I got the mechanics of it pretty straight, hours later the sky began to darken; stars lightened the sky with an irrational glow while the moon gave off a brighter, more mystical light than the stars. I glanced at the digital clock that Jarvis pulled up on to the walls for me it was exactly 4:05 am, lovely, I'm on break and what do I get? Less sleep; Minutes later I heard someone punching in their code on the door I refused to look up and see who it was and I was close to finishing the helmet I quickly closed the sketch book when I saw Tony standing in front of me.

"Don't scare me like that! God might as well be a spy" I barked shaking my head moving my wavy brown hair from my face.

"Come on you've been in here for hours lets go" The billionaire said, and to Ali's surprise he sounded concerned for her well being.

"Look I'm busy working on something for you guys-I doubt you'll like it but I'm still going to make it"

"And you can do that as soon as you get six hours of needed sleep come _on_" he urged

I sighed and got up and walked over to my room, Tony following, for some-reason, once I was there; which is a thirty minute walk to get there, I set my sketch book down and got all my lights set up in my room, if those lights are working or aren't left on I can't sleep well it's just habit. My room is a pale blue room with cream carpeting with some techie stuff in-between. I sat down on my bed and much to my confusion Tony was still standing there, I looked at him "anything you need?-and please don't say what I think you're going to say cuz' if you are then get your ass out of my room"

He gave me a smirk and said "Just making sure you got to your room, not what looks like you're going to your room and back to the lab, oh- and if you do" Tony said before leaving "I'll know I've already hacked into the camera's that Fury supposedly had under 'constant surveillance' so don't go getting any ideas" I smiled, and got into my cupcake PJ's, love those things, and went into a restful, peaceful, sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I woke up to the sunlight in my eyes and Jarvis's voice; I smiled, finally a break, it's what we all need, then my eyes widened and I felt sick in the stomach as I remembered what Natasha had said months ago. "'If we get a break from Fury which will probably be any day now we well have to train on the second day of the week to keep are skills sharp'" I moaned and got up and put on a tank top and jeans.

I walked out of my room and I saw Steve get out of his room at the same time, I waved but he just gave me a nod and walked straight forward. Me and Steve never talked that much but I try to I really do but it never seems to work. I never did good in history to understand what he did in those times to start a conversation, I made my way to the entertainment room and got a honey crisp apple and some water, I might as well eat healthy till Nat gets here, then I heard footsteps coming closer it was Natasha she walked up to me and said "You didn't forget did you?" I shook my head and said "Hello? Why else would I be eating healthy today?"

At the sparring room, we put on some gloves but thankfully Natasha didn't get her electric enhanced gloves that she uses to parlays her opponent. I started with a kick lunge and missed, but the spy smiled and pinned me to the floor and did so many flips around my body I got dizzy and then punched me in the gut, I heaved and almost blew chunks then I looked up and glared and kicked her in the chest she let out a gasp and took a few steps back and tackled me and began to do something that would knock me out but simply said "I don't think I want to knock you out after you just woke up"

"Thanks" I said and we ended at that, she knew I wasn't strong so she went easy on me which, that I was thankful for.

I went to my room, I was already bored and it was only the second day of our break. I went over to my bed and sat down in utter boredom, I began to fiddle with the internet on my tablet that Tony was kind enough to let me keep I began reading some news articles that came up on the main menu, nothing exciting just that some actress dyed her hair; like anyone really cares about that. Just then I got an IM, I tapped the IM box on the tablet then a pop-up came up saying "do you really want to read this message?" no I just tapped it for no reason, god technology is awesome but can be really stupid sometimes. It was from Tony saying that he needed me in the lab, I groaned and got up and went down the hallway.

Once I finally got to the lab I punched in my code and the door clicked and I went into the room

"What do you want?" I asked arms crossed staring at him; Tony was standing there designing of what looked like a robotic hand like on his iron man suit but more-smaller, like a woman's hand. It was shinning silver with blue lights glowing on the inside, he glanced up at me his brown eyes looking mischievous as always "I just want you to put your hand in this"

_"Why?" _

"Just cause, Come _on _Sketches" Tony begged

"Fine" I growled walking over I stuck my hand in and it felt surprisingly comfortable, once my hand was all the way in I just kept it there but apparently that's not what he wanted.

"Now, move your fingers" he said, so I did the metal fingers moved with mine, easily, and for some reason I just went into a fit of giggles just the way it knew that I was going to move them was so strange. I moved my hand out from the armored glove and turned to him, "Is that all you wanted, Mr. Stark?" I asked like one of his assistants would.

He was about to go back to fixing the glove until I said 'Mr. Stark' he shot me a look, I just smiled knowing that he didn't enjoy that he turned to me and said "I'm not your boss, quit calling me that" I just gave him a look.

"Then quit calling me Sketches" I said coolly

"Aw, do I have to? It fits you so well…" he said trying to look pitiful

I smiled "Well then Mr.-"

He put up his finger to my face "You heard what I said"

"And you heard what _I _said" I teased, turning away and leaving the room

Once I was outside I ran into Bruce

"Oh, Hey"

"Hi…is Tony in there?"

"Yup, he's making another suit of armor I think" I informed him

"Another one?"

"Yeah but I think it's for a girl, its more…feminine looking"

He just nodded and walked into the lab, I went straight forward to the entertainment room, as usual and no one was in there; or at least from what I could see.

So I just whirled around and went right back down the hall and back into my room once more in boredom.

"Jarvis what's the time?" I asked then in big bold numbers on the window was 1:22 am

"It is one twenty two A M Miss. Ali" Jarvis replied

"Thanks" I said looking up from my tablet

It was then that I got another IM it said 'Avengers assemble in the entertainment room! Stark'

Once I was in the entertainment room I glanced around and everyone was here, except for Thor of course whose galaxies away from earth. Tony glanced from side to side and said "Okay, for the past few-hours I've noticed how bored some of us are from this break" _I know I am…_ I thought "So I thought we could all play a game of some sorts"

"What kind of game are you talking about?" Natasha asked her eyes narrowing

"I dunno, Spin the bottle, Truth or dare" his face was in deep thought "Seven minutes in heaven or something"

"Well definitely not seven minutes in heaven" Clint said "First off it's for teenagers and you never play fair on that"

"Who said I would play fair?" Tony said shrugging

I rolled my eyes as we all just stood there and then I lifted up one hand and declared "I'm out" before walking away.

"I guess the bitch isn't as tough as I thought" I heard Tony say

I stopped dead, I turned around I could feel the blood rushing to my face in pure anger; the blood was pumping in my ears from sheer hatred.

I stomped over to him till I was nose to nose with this slutty ass hole

"At least I don't sleep with people on a daily bases" and said trying to keep my voice calm _That was the most dumbest comeback I've ever heard myself say_

"Oh so horrible" he laughed

I let out an irritated shriek and stomped off and gave him the one fingered salute

I sat in my bed punching my pillow in fury, but the memory foam never broke; _just proves how weak I am _I thought my eyes beginning to tear up _I'll never be as strong as any of them…_ I quit punching my pillow and slammed my face against my pillow. I heard footsteps and I figured it was Tony "Get the hell out of here Tony!" I shouted

"This isn't Tony" said a voice; it was Natasha I sensed her walking over and sitting next to me her jade eyes observing me intently.

"You okay?" she asked, to Ali's surprise she sounded so worried for her

_What a question…did I look okay back there? _

"No, of course not I just hate it when people act like…" I searched for the right word while getting my face out of the pillow.

"Asses?" she asked, I couldn't help but smile but I nodded then quickly hiding my smile

"Well, that's how he is" Natasha said staring off into space "When Fury told me to watch him when I was working for him I knew he was bad, but, not _that_ bad" she said

"Yeah well I knew that he was an ass but I didn't think he would…" I was searching for the right words again, making a hand movement at the air as if it could help me think

"Do it to you?" Natasha said breaking out of her daze to stare into my eyes

I looked down and just did a slight nod, and gave her a mild smile, Natasha's red hair was tinted with pale yellow while her jade eyes were lit with a pale orange from my lamp next to my bed.

"I understand that's his personality and I'm okay with that I just can't stand being called _that_" my fists tightened almost busting a vessel.

Natasha just nodded and we went into silence, minutes later she stood up; indicating that she was leaving I got up to and gave her a hug, which I think startled her because she stiffened I chuckled and said "Thanks, you made me feel a lot better"

She blinked and walked away and said "Talking's the best medicine" and left me in my dim lit room

The next morning I woke up in a cranky mood I couldn't sleep worth crap last night, Natasha's talk helped me, yes but it wasn't enough. I blinked repeatedly and shook my head and put on a T-shirt and jeans, and put my hair in a pony tail. As I was walking out of my room I saw Natasha coming towards me I tipped my head slightly to one side like a dog that was confused; she came over and was looking straight ahead while saying "Somebody hacked into our computer systems last night"

"Who?"

"That's the problem, we don't know who"

"Could it have been Stark? He said he-"then I stopped in mid sentence realizing I had just blown his cover

"Said what?" Natasha sighed turning to me

I sighed as well and went on "He said he hacked into the cameras, so maybe he hacked into the computer systems as well"

She glared at the ground "Maybe but why would he hack into his own tech? It doesn't add up"

"Maybe he was looking for some of Fury's secret files" I suggested

She just gave me a glance, her eyes were no longer friendly and warm, they were secretive and defensive "I doubt it"

"That's what he did last time" I said searching her face waiting for a facial reaction, nothing, non-responsive

She just grunted and walked further on leaving me in the hall, then Fury called an Avengers meeting

The meeting was basically Fury telling us to stay on our toes trust no one, I did just that…I think, I went down to the lab, as usual and sat in my usual spot in a small desk area with a spinney chair across from Bruce's desk, but yet close to both of the doors. I went to typing stuff on the computer, sort of like a journal, I was typing in how angered and ticked off I was and I was aware that both Bruce and Stark came in but I could sense some unease in one of them, most likely Stark, but then again it could be Banner he gets upset whenever one of his friends is upset or something, but it could be both so who knows?

But anyway I kept my eyes locked on my screen, and my ears focused on the sounds closest to me, I was typing for hours and then quit and listened to some music. I leaned over to where I kept my Sprite last time and began to drink it, I always told my friends Sprite is like my beer whenever I'm upset or need to get slap happy Sprite cures my sorrow and makes me care free. I twisted the lid back on and set back on the table and began to browse Google for some images of random things, and then a voice brought me back to the real world.

"Ms. Henderson come here a sec" Tony said making a motion with his finger

I noticed he was calling me Ms and no longer 'Sketches' and for once I missed that, but I ignored it and walked over without saying a word letting it sink in to the fact that I was pissed off.

He was working on another hand again except this time it was for the left, I stuck it in and did what I did last time and then took it out and then turned away and sat back down and took another mouthful of Sprite.

I heard him make an annoyed huff "I wasn't finished with you yet"

I opened my mouth to make a sharp retort but for some reason I stopped myself but I couldn't help but think it

_You're never finished with any women are you? _

I smirked, _that was pretty good…why didn't I say it? Man I would cherish that moment…_

I gave him a look, as if to say _what the hell do you want me to do use my mind to make it move?_

"Actually let's go to the sparring room there's a target arena there" he suggested

I sighed and marched out of the room with Tony by my side.

"Okay" the billionaire said setting up the armored gloves on my hands they fit so well…it was as if they were made for me, but I'm sure they weren't, they were probably asked for by Natasha or something.

He put his hand on my arm, and the other on my hip to keep me stable I'm sure.

I cleared my throat nervously, _this feels weird…_ I thought, my stomach flip flopped, I shook my head to clear the odd thoughts that entered my mind.

"Okay" Tony said his face was right against mine "Now focus your eyes on the target, or even a specific spot if you like"

I took a deep breath and kept my arm raised, and kept my eyes concentrated on the heart, the one point on the human that can make them die a quick, less painful death.

"Are you focused on a certain spot?" he asked, I flinched

"Yeah…" I croaked, I haven't talked much all day and when that happens, my voice cracks "The heart" I said more firmly.

"Now think of something that has angered you recently" I froze in thought, something hit me like when a dog runs through a screen door, but I stayed silent just to make sure if what I presumed was right.

"Use that anger to take out the target" he said, as if it was that easy

"But what if-"

"It'll work just _try it_, Sketches" Tony said with a smile

This time I smiled back, I thought of the anger he made me feel last night and a burst of energy shot out of the gloves, I aimed at another target, _Bam!_, his hands were off of me now; then another, _Bang!_ , I turned for another till Tony stopped me.

"Okay I knew you were mad but not _that_ mad" he said with a slight chuckle

I began to unscrew the gloves and I handed them back to him my lips close to his "Don't light my fuse Stark, once you light it, it can never be doused" I took a step back and walked off. I heard him ask from the other end of the room "Does this mean were good?"

I just gave him a wink and left the room.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Once I left the training room I saw Steve go in there as well I turned to him

"What are you doing?"

Steve turned from the open door "Just going to see how good I can use my shield"

"Oh, good luck" I said with a smile

"Thanks" The door closed behind him

As I was walking down the hall I felt like I was being watched I looked up to see Clint staring at me from a few floors above.

"What the hell!" I shouted

Clint burst out laughing and fell to the ground

"What were you doing?" I asked him

"Nothing, just watching the surveillance cameras, saw you and Tony shooting targets I'm guessing he's not your enemy anymore?"

I glanced at him as we kept walking "Just cause he sweet talks me and puts his hand on my hip doesn't change the fact that he's an ass" I told him, I looked at him he had a slight smile on his face and didn't look convinced I grinded my teeth.

"I'm serious"

"Yeah, I bet" Clint laughed and he turned to go down into S.H.I.E.L.D's secret files

I put a hand on my head and let out a long sigh, I crossed my arms over my chest as if I was hiding my true thoughts and feelings. But I flinched at the point Clint was making, and couldn't help but make an odd face, I shook my head yet again getting the same thought out of my head and walked on ignoring it. I finally found the elevator after being lost for three hours, and hit the button to take me to level one the entertainment room and from there I could pass the lab and go to my room which was a few yards away. As I waited I heard the quiet trumpeting elevator music, the doors opened and I strolled out and glanced into the room, no one was there still except Natasha who was getting a drink.

"Where were you?" Natasha asked her eyes full of confusion and curiosity

"Tony wanted me to use the robotic arms for some target practice"

"Hmm…" Natasha said pouring some wine into her cubed cup "How was that for you?" she asked her eyes glancing up from her grape colored drink.

"It was…" I stopped myself I don't want her acting like Clint was "okay I guess"

She smirked and went back to pouring then when it was at the spot she wanted she put it back up onto the shelf and took a sip, she walked over to me her eyes full of amusement.

"You enjoyed it huh?" she asked taking, yet another gulp of the liquor

I shifted my feet uncomfortably "A little-but that's beside the point, I'm making it quite clear that I'm pissed"

Natasha grunted "Yeah…allowing him to put his hand on your hip, without putting up a fight? That doesn't sound like the Ali I know" Natasha finished her drink and set it in the sink, the turned over to me and said "Barton told me what happened hours ago, don't fall for his charm he just does it to get what he wants"

I put a hand up as if to stop her "Yes, yes I'm well aware of his '_needs_' and I'm not falling for his charm, alright?"

"Regimes fall everyday" Natasha stated and walked off, leaving me in the dark entertainment room, the only light I had was from the fire in the fireplace.

I was still standing there alone in the entertainment room and decided to sit down on the couch. While sitting I just went into a deep thought and stared at the flames waving from side to side, heat radiating off of them every second.

_Why do Natasha and Clint think I'm falling for this guy? Seriously he's an ass I wouldn't want to date or kiss that bastard, I mean who would? That's a good question…_ I went into that place again, la-la land, then after hours of thinking I just decided to leave when I saw Steve walking in he noticed me but didn't bother to say 'hi' so I just gave a wry smile and left the room and, again, went into the lab. Bruce wasn't there surprisingly but Tony was still working on that arm but this time he had taken off all of the body of it and all there was; was five or six metal pieces holding it together the fingers were the same with some metal loops but covered at the tips of where fingers would be.

"What are you doing now?" I asked walking over to my desk to get my Sprite from hours ago.

"Well, I took off the body"

"Obviously"

"And now I need you to test this again, I was going to IM you but I thought the hell with it you know?" He said his brown eyes looking up at me, I just nodded.

"Well get over here" he said, sounded irritated

"Yes Mister. Stark" I said again while walking over to him, he glared at me but smiled

"Okay I've added some things to it to make it fly" he explained as I was putting it on "So- whatever happens in this test just go with it"

I gave him a questionable look but remained silent, to my curiosity he was behind me; I took a deep breath and thought of the word 'fly' and I heard a sound and then a loud burst came from it and I fell backward right into Tony's arms I let out a scream as we fell to the floor.

I opened my tightly closed eyes to find myself underneath Tony; I shook my head to clear the blackness around me.

"What the hell happened?" I asked, trying to get up, but he wouldn't let me

"You flew backward, it's a simple mistake I made my first time making the suit" Tony explained calmly, looking at me. If Natasha or Clint came in, Boy what idea would come into their heads? I struggled to get up but Tony refused for me to get up. I glared at him "Come on if Natasha or Clint comes in their seriously going to take this the wrong way, now get off me!" I growled struggling to get up.

"I've never been told that before" he joked

"Oh god…" I moaned, he burst out laughing and helped me up

I walked over to him while he unscrewed the gloves off of me, while doing so he stopped as if he realized something, he turned to me.

"What do you mean, Natasha or Clint will get the wrong idea?" he said looking at me

My jaw dropped, I caught myself "Uh-…they just"

He narrowed his eyes "Spit it out Sketches, if you don't I'm not taking these off you"

"Natasha and Clint thinks I'm falling for you or something stupid like that" I say all at once closing my eyes, I wait a moment before opening one Tony just went "Oh that's all" and went back to the gloves.

"What do you mean 'Oh that's all'?" I asked giving him a look "I mean I understand you flirt with basically any girl you see but still" I said grabbing my Sprite "Aren't you worried that Fury might exclude you from the Avengers or something?"

"Why would he do that?" he asked giving me a look of confusion

"I don't know…" I said actually questioning what I just said

He just smirked and gave my shoulders a squeeze "I'll be fine" he whispered and went back to work, I was about to do the same but right when I was getting a pencil he said "It's too late for that, go to bed Sketches, god I know you love drawing but seriously drawing at 3:33 in the morning isn't exactly your style"

I smiled placed my Sprite in the refrigerator and left the room.

I jolted awake from the rumble of thunder, and the crackle of lightning flashing outside my window, the skies were dark gray while rain bucketed down onto the glass and onto the pavement feet below. I got dressed and walked out of my room once more and went into the entertainment room and went to the bar, no, not to get a drink, I will never drink alcohol, there's a kitchen part of the bar; but its rather small. I went over and got a bowl of cereal and ate three over flowed bowl full's of cereal; once I was done I slowly walked over to the sink and dropped it in there. Then there was a loud crash, and the world went dark the only light I had was the flashes of lightning outside, now normally I would scream in a situation like this but not anymore.

I decided to find a light somewhere I used my senses to try and remember where I was to go to my room and find some of my lights, as I went down what I think was the hall I heard footsteps.

I froze

"Hello?"

Silence

My dark eyes searched for a figure in the dark, but there was nothing. I began to panic, my breath began to quiver and my palms became sweaty, my heart raced.

"Is anyone there?"

I heard heavy breathing

Then all of a sudden my face was pounded against something so heavy that I fell to the floor with a thud, my vision darkened and the darkness lasted forever.

I opened my eyes to the dim light of candles I looked around and let out a sigh of relief when I realized that I was still in the tower, but I was in my room, I rolled my eyes around and saw Natasha and Steve sitting next to me.

"What hap-"I tried to get up but I moaned in agony, the pain was unbearable my head hurt so badly

"Don't even try to get up Ali" Natasha said her eyes were warm and relived

"Yeah" Steve said "You're hurt pretty badly, I wouldn't even think about getting up for a few days"

"A few days?" I mumbled I shut my eyes "You still haven't told me what happened"

Natasha did what I think was a slight chuckle and said "Well Thor's back"

"Thor?" I said confused

"Yup, he came to check on us and his arrival made the electric go out and when he heard your voice and didn't recognize it he assumed you were an intruder and hit you with his hammer"

"Good grief" I muttered

Natasha laughed "Well were glad you're okay"

"Who brought me here?"

"Steve carried you in here I just talked to Thor explaining that we had a new recruit, I told him to promise me not to carry his beloved hammer near you while he's here" she laughed.

"Well…who found me?" I asked, still dumbfounded that I lived through Thor's stupid hammer blow

"I'm not sure, but hey at least you're alive that's the main thing" Natasha said smiling, she then turned to Steve "You might wanna go check on Thor see how he's holding up" she ordered him. Steve just nodded and left the room. Natasha looked at me, and then she got up and said "You're probably gonna get checked on by everybody every second" she left the room but I heard her shout "So get used to it"

Minutes after that I got out my laptop and started playing GBA games on an emulator, I got visits from everybody, well not 'visits' per-say I got IM's from Bruce and Tony but other than that I was pretty much checked on every hour and every minute. It was at that moment after I defeated a boss on Spyro, I became very thirsty.

I grabbed my tablet and IM'd Bruce, asking him if he was in the lab, seconds later my tablet ringed and I tapped on messages and he replied stating "No why? You need something?"

I typed back "No, well yes but since you're not in the lab I won't bother you, I'll try Tony I guess"

He didn't reply back, guessing he agreed so I IM'd Tony "Hey get a Sprite out of my refrigerator and bring it to me"

He didn't reply back for hours I just huffed and went back to Season of ice, minutes later I heard a knock and there was Tony with a bottle of Sprite. I set down my laptop and opened the bottle, it was empty, I threw him a look.

"What the hell is this?" I state, he just burst out laughing

"What you didn't say I couldn't drink it" I opened my mouth to say something till he tossed me another bottle

I took a huge gulp "Thanks" I gasped giving him the other one "I felt like I was gonna die!"

He smirked, we sat in silence till I remembered something "Hey, did you finish the arm thing?" I asked, last night I fell into his arms and from then on it was plain awkward. He nodded "Yeah all I need to do is give it a few power upgrades and you can have them"

"Huh?"

"You heard me; I said there _yours_ for _you _to wear in battle, help you fly and stuff"

"Why?"

"Well remember when we first met and you moped about how weak you were?"

"How could I?"

"Well I felt for you so I decided to make them for you, your welcome" he finished sarcastically

"Thank you, Mister Stark" I teased, bursting into laughter

He opened his mouth to say something but didn't.

"I told you not to call me that"

"And you told me you don't like to be handed things but yet you took the coffee" I countered, grabbing my laptop, smiling.

"That was different" he stated fiddling with the bottle

"How's that different?"

He shrugged "It just is"

"Yeah, _O-kay_" I jeered

After awhile I began playing my game again, and then I remembered Tony was still here, I swear to god I'm so dense.

"You want something?" I asked, trying to avoid his eyes, I can never look at someone straight in the eyes without feeling awkward, girls sure, guys heck no.

"No…not exactly" he said "I just thought you wanted company"

"Well…yeah, it's just were not exactly talking…and I'm socially awkward"

"_You_? You're socially awkward?" he said his eyes brimming with amusement

"Well in school I was, no one wanted to talk to me, I was talkative only to my friends I could be a pain in some guys fat ass, if they bullied me or pissed me off even, but other than that yeah I am-or still socially awkward"

"Why would ass-holes bully you? Your cool" he stated still fiddling with the bottle

"You think I'm cool?" I questioned, not believing him at all

He shrugged "There are some things I would smooth out but, yeah"

I punched him in the shoulder

"I was giving you a freaking compliment! You should thank me"

"For what? Saying that there were some things that needed smoothing out?"

"Exactly" he said, looking at me

I gave him a wry smile "Alright" I said adjusting in my bed as if it was a big deal I kept a straight face saying "Thank you Mr. Stark for saying I'm imperfect" this time he punched my lightly on the shoulder, I laughed.

"I told you to quit calling me that you're not my assistant you know" he informed me

I shrugged and closed my laptop screen "I would like to be"

"You would?" he said stunned

I took this by surprise "Well-yeah-sure who wouldn't?"

"Good question, I'm surprised women don't want to be my assistant, I mean they get to be with me all day" he said acting like he was staring off into space thinking of possibilities

"I think you just answered your question" I said, he gave me another light punch on the shoulder I giggled.

"What it's true" I stated calmly "You know it is, people know your playboy status is…very high, and the only people who would want to be your assistant would be prostitutes"

"That wouldn't be half bad"

I slapped my hand on my forehead "Good god you will never learn till you get a STD"

It was then we both laughed at my comment, then we went into an awkward silence

It was like this for ten minutes till he finally said "you'd better get to bed, keep your strength up" he got up and went to the door.

"Tony?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks"

"For what? The drink? You already thanked me like…four times already-"

"No, I mean for keeping me company, you were right I needed someone to talk to…I appreciate that"

I couldn't see him because of the way my walls were shaped but I hoped he understood how much that meant.

"Anytime" he murmured

He turned the lights off, my walls were no longer sky blue anymore, they were a dark stormy ocean blue as the lights dimmed to his command.

"Goodnight Ali"

"Night Tony"

That night, I felt no fears…of being hit by a godly hammer, or dying whichever sounds more painful.

I woke up with a smile on my face, I tried getting up this time and to my surprise I could, but I still felt sore so I didn't bother getting out of the heat radiating off of this cozy bed. As I lay in my bed I saw that the electric was still off but some lights were working, _Must be the backup power _I thought. I glanced around my room and saw my Sprite from last night I couldn't hold back my smile; my eyes were slowly beginning to close when there was a knock on my door.

"Come in" I said groggily

"Morning Ali" it was Natasha she was wearing a red top with skin tight pants "You feeling better?"

"Actually yes, but I'm still incredibly sore but other than that I'm doing good" I told her

She seemed relived "Well I'm guessing tomorrow you'll be up to meeting Thor"

"I suppose" I paused "Wait why won't he come and see me now?"

"He's too upset about the accident to check in on you, so...Yeah tomorrow I'll tell him he'll be relived" she said glancing around my room, and then she noticed the sprite on my nightstand.

"Did you get that last night?" she asked her eyes turning hard

"Oh no, I IM'd Bruce last night but he said he wasn't in the lab so I asked Tony to bring it in for me"

She gave me a look her eyes were full of satisfaction there was a smile on her face that I didn't like

I gave a deep sigh "It's not what you think Nat" I groaned

"Of course, not" she said sarcastically, she kept smiling as she got up and left the room "I'll see you later" she chuckled.

I huffed, for god sakes people think I'm falling for a man twice my age! I laughed at the thought.

I couldn't stand the idea of having my ass in bed all day again so I sneaked out of my room, ever so quietly, using my spy skills I did a march _Heel to toe_ I recited in my mind _heel to toe, heel to toe!_ If you do that your footsteps are barely heard by the human ear. I peeped in the entertainment room, no one was there so I tip toed into the room I decided to get an apple and sneak back into my room, I marched down the hall and finally made it to the front door of my room I began to punch in my code, _301225 _then I was allowed entrance inside. The lock clicked as I popped the door open, I quietly shut the door and took a huge bite of my apple; Ahh…yummy apples so tasty.

I walked over to my bed and played some music, I was almost done with my apple when I heard somebody punching in their code, I panicked, I whipped my head around for a place to put the apple. I just kept it in my hand and kept eating it.

"Why did you leave your room to get a freakin' apple?" It was Tony, it was then I remembered he hacked into the cameras.

I rolled my eyes "What do you do in your spare time _stalk me_? Good god I was right you should be a spy" I took a huge bite of my apple.

He just glared at me "You're not feeling well and yet you leave to get a dumb apple!"

"_I was hungry_!" I shouted "Or am I not allowed to be hungry? Look I'm feeling better I'm just a little sore Natasha said that I would probably feel better tomorrow, can we please leave it at that?" I pleaded, I mean this was ridiculous us fighting over what? And apple and my well being…hmmm… I was right, pointless.

He let out a sigh; I'm guessing he realized how dumb this was too

"Some things are better being left alone" She informed him

"I guess, but your still on Stark watch" he said pointing at me, like I was a prisoner

"Oh, goodie" I said in a high girly voice, his face was priceless, one eyebrow was up his mouth was hanging open slightly like _did you just check out of the coo-coo shack? _

"Sorry I had a little outburst of extra energy there" I told him

He was still looking at me like that then shook his head as if to forget what he just heard.

"Well okay, well, have fun with you and your sudden outbursts" he said with another look of confusion

"Hey Tony wait" I ordered

"What Ms. Henderson?" he said, I have a feeling this is going to be an ongoing game between me and him me calling him Mr. Stark and him calling my Ms. Henderson.

"Are you going to come talk to me like you did last time?" I asked, sounding hopeful

"_Why_?" he asked like it was a dumb thing to ask

"I enjoyed it, god or is _that_ questionable?"

"No, no it's nothing to fuss over, I just wasn't expecting that-uh…err…yeah-I guess" he said lifting his arms up slightly, as if to say _what the hell_.

"Okay thanks" I said with a smile, and grabbed my laptop, as Tony left the room.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I was busy playing Pokémon when I heard the scanner go off, there's a number code, or a finger or eye scanner to get into each room it was Natasha again, she walked in her jade eyes never leaving mine.

"How you doing?"

"Okay I guess"

"Okay enough to play a drinking game?" she asked

I was taken aback by the question, since when do we play drinking games? Then it made sense, electric's out everyone's bored, good explanation.

"Uh…yeah okay but one thing I'm not drinking"

She sighed as I got up "Then what will you drink? Imaginary wine?"

"No, Sprite!" I say enthusiastically, we both burst into laughter as Natasha helped me into the entertainment room.

I looked around the room as we walked in, Steve was sitting in a new chair in the center of the room, while Bruce was sitting on the couch reading a magazine, and Clint was sitting next to Bruce looking expectant, while Tony was over at the bar, obviously getting gassed but not too gassed once Stark saw us come in he shouted.

"Alright, guys time for us to play a game this time"

I glanced at Natasha looking very bored, but there was some mischief in her eyes.

"What game?" Natasha asked from the end of the room

"Wait…" I said, everyone turned to me "Where's Thor?"

"Oh, Thunder-head" Tony said

"He went back to Asgard saying that something had happened that he needed to take care of" Steve put in his bright green eyes looking reassuring.

"Oh…okay" I said putting a hand on my head, wanting to sit down grabbed Natasha's shoulder for support

"Ali?" The agent murmured grabbing hold of me "Are you sure you're up for this?"

"I…" I couldn't breathe for some reason, my heart was speeding up, it does that occasionally but it took me by surprise.

"Ali" Natasha said again setting me down in a chair, then leaning down to keep eye contact with me "Are you okay?" she repeated.

"Y-yes, I-I'm fine" I gasped, gripping onto the chair

"You don't look fine" Steve put in walking over

I couldn't say anything to that, I just moaned, and then the world went black once more.

I woke up on the couch in the entertainment room, every avenger was staring at me, I jumped startled by all the eyes trained on me.

"What happened this time?" I asked, disappointed, looking at everyone

"You fainted again" Steve informed "I thought you would be better by tomorrow but, I guess we were wrong"

My eyes began to water, but I tried to hold them back "Fury was wrong to recruit me wasn't he?" I asked them looking at each of them. They were all immediately sympathetic, telling me, no it wasn't a mistake that I was a perfect choice for their group of heroes.

I huffed "I didn't ask for sympathy I asked for an answer" I said my voice was tense

The only answer I got was the crackling of the fireplace

"Well that answer's my question" I said I got up and walked out of the room and I heard someone say my name but I ignored whoever it was and quickened my pace. That was when I began to cry then I remembered my mother saying how weak and pathetic I was stating that she was tougher than me. That made let out an agonizing sob, my mother was no support in my teen years whatsoever, telling me how horrible my acne looked on my face, how I should wear make-up basically saying that I look ugly without it on, how I couldn't answer a question, just everything. I just broke into sobs and loud gasps, and then I felt a tight grip on my arm I turned to see Tony standing next to me.

"What's going on?" he murmured, his breath had the faint smell of alcohol; I couldn't answer him I was in too much of a teary eyed state to answer him.

He sighed and grabbed my hand and dragged me to my room, he shut the door and closed it, he then set me down on my bed and sat next to me and put his arm around me and tried to calm me down, which was kind of weird but, hey, it helped. This reminded me of when I was a little girl and my brother, we were so close, and whenever I was upset he would always hug me and calm me down telling me it was okay and that there was nothing to fear. And now here I am twenty years later and some guy is doing this to me basically.

"Now" he began, as my sobbing died down "What's wrong?" he asked his hand still on my shoulder and his brown eyes looking at me.

I let out a quivering breath "I'm just not strong enough to be with a group so powerful as the avengers" I told him "I mean it's so obvious, you guys are so amazing I mean you, have the mind of a friggin' genius, and so does Banner but hey he turns into the jolly green giant and beats the crap out of people, and Natasha is a spy who's so flexible and can beat the crap out of people as well and same with Clint except he uses arrows that can do almost anything. And Thor is a god, what else can I say? And me, I'm just a girl from a small town, no more, no less" I said my eyes watering again.

"Oh I'm sorry and I'm not ordinary?" he said giving me a look

I gave him the same look back "You're a billionaire and have an arc reactor for a heart, if that's normal then I wouldn't be here wishing for a PS3"

He just smirked an went on "You know what I mean, the only reason I'm a superhero is because I wear high tech armor, only thing"

"Either way…I shouldn't be here, that's, that, once I feel better I'm leaving" I said getting up but my head spun and I almost landed onto the metal part of my bed but Tony caught me and set me back down.

"You're staying" he said grabbing my shoulder

"I'm leaving Tony get it in your head" I said slapping his hand off my shoulder

"No you're not your staying" Tony said his arms crossed

"And what if I try to leave?" I say

"I'll seduce you" he said chuckling in the middle of the statement

"Oh yeah that'll work" I teased but then went back to the seriousness of the conversation "Look, Tony…You know I don't belong here so why won't you let me go?"

"You do belong here and I won't let you go because-everyone would be crushed" He said, for once I actually looked him in the eyes, he was avoiding mine he was hiding something but I let it slide "What do you mean everyone will be crushed? Sure I have friends but…were not _that_ close"

"Look even though you weren't mad at Bruce about me calling you a-"I glared at him not wanting to say the word again. "You know…but he was so depressed because you were upset, you affect a lot of people here, and sure you may not talk to Steve or Clint that much but they see you as a close friend, and that's a reason to stay, because you have friends here that really care about you"

I thought about what he had said, and slowly began to shake my head "I have friends that care about me down there" I said pointing to the ground "On a little place I like to call earth" I hissed.

He glared at me and gave an irritated huff "Look I know you're confused an upset but I forbid you to leave the Avengers, and Stark Towers" he ordered his voice tense.

I crossed my arms and stared daggers at the ground "No, I'm _leaving _end of discussion" I ordered

"Ali, please, Natasha's going to be so upset when you leave"

"Why?" I asked glaring at him

"Because you're the only girl in the avengers besides her, and she's always wanted another girl around, and having you here has made it better for her in the avengers, because she actually has female companionship, something that she didn't have here, before you came" Tony explained, I thought about it, it was true Bruce was upset because I was, and that Natasha enjoyed talking to me, and that Steve and Clint really consider me a really close friend, and that's something you can't find everywhere.

_He's right, but I have friends in the real world...but they probably don't even remember me, so I might as well stay._

I let out a quiet sigh, I turned to him it was then I realized his hand was on my shoulder again, _Okay at first I didn't mind now it is getting awkward…_ "Alright Tony I'll stay, on one condition" I said not taking my eyes off him.

"Anything" he said, he seriously wanted me to stay, _if that's how you feel…I will never try to leave again_

"Get your hand off my shoulder" I stated blandly

He quickly put his arms in the air like 'I didn't do anything!'

I smiled then I got serious again "Tony…why do you want me to stay so badly? I don't make that much of a difference surely"

He looked at the floor his eyes getting soft, "You do Ali you may not realize it but the more members we have here in the Avengers the stronger we get and you're a great asset in this team" he said turning to me.

I looked at him and smiled but it quickly faded away as I stared back down at the floor, I let out a long quiet sigh "Well, if you want me to stay so badly, I guess I can stand your arrogance for awhile" I said smiling.

He smirked "That's a tough thing to live with" he teased

"Oh, trust me you have no idea" I said with a serious tone to my voice, we looked at each other once more but this time our eyes locked.

_Ummm….okay for once I agree with Nat and Clint for once, about this whole shah-bang…but I can't help but wonder, why…I mean, it's just weird…_

I don't remember who did it but one of us leaned in a bit closer, and closer… _What's going _on_?_

But then we froze, I realized that my eyes were closed, as if I was expecting something but then my eyes opened and I looked at his again we both realized what almost happened, and we just stared the blood rushed to my face.

The blood quickly left my face when the sound of someone punching in there code disrupted our moment I stared at him for a second longer till the person who came in was Natasha.

She noticed how close we were sitting and cleared her throat "I'm not interrupting anything here am I?" she said with an edge of amusement me and Tony were quickly saying "No, _No_, nothing at _all_"

All she did was smile and sat next to me, "Well I just presumed with you two being in here for about…twenty minutes, that something was going on"

"Nat! Good god _nothing's_ going _on_!" Tony said his arms up in the air again once more

"Not in your eyes but in everyone else's eyes there's some Chemistry going on…"

He got up and left the room, Natasha just burst into a fit of giggles.

"What the hell Nat" I said while she was wiping tears from her eyes.

"What?"

"He was just making me feel better"

"Well…all of us were thinking something else was going on like-"

"_Oh my god_!" I moaned "Don't tell me what you guys were thinking, I already have a good idea, god and I thought my friends were perverted"

Natasha just fell on my bed and laughed even harder and gasped "I'm not joking; we figured that, _that_ was going on"

I just covered my face as the blood rushed to it "God save me from this horrible world" that made Natasha laugh even more.

"Well, gosh try not to look like such a couple" Natasha laughed

_What like you and Clint? _I scowled in my mind but I wouldn't dare hurt her feelings.

"Get out of here" I giggled pushing her but she refused

"What happened?"

"What you mean why I was crying?"

"Well yes but also what was happening _here_" Natasha stated looking at the bed "If _that_ wasn't going on _what was_?"

"Because I felt like I wasn't supposed to be here like I didn't belong, like I was too weak, and Tony was just calming me down"

"How so?"

I looked her up and down "What do you mean 'how so?'"

She laughed "I mean, how did he comfort you?"

"He just put his arm around me and…comforted me"

"That's all?"

I thought about what happened earlier before she came in…I was defiantly not telling her that we almost…you know, so I just nodded.

"Then what was with the staring?"

"What?"

"The staring when I came you guy's eyes were like, _glued_"

I felt the color coming back to me face "Uh…that?-um-well…"

She just burst out laughing once more "Yeah, no chemistry whatsoever"

"Oh shut up Nat" I said giving her a friendly push on the shoulder

She just smiled and helped me into my bed and murmured "Well I promise I won't tell anyone about it"

"Thanks" I mumbled getting covered up in the sheets, and just as my mind went into ease I heard her say.

"Besides Clint"

"_Natasha_!" I screamed throwing one of my extra pillows at her, she just ran out laughing.

I woke up to sunshine in my eyes, the electric was back on once again, Jarvis was up and running again telling me good morning, and the weather notifications. I tried getting up my head was a little woozy as I tried brushing my hair, brush my teeth, the usual stuff.

Then I tried walking out of my room and into the kitchen for another apple but just as I opened the door Jarvis locked my door.

"_Jarvis_!" I shouted

"I'm sorry Miss. Ali but Mr. Stark informed me about your condition and I'm not allowed letting you out for anything, if you want something you can have me inform Mr. Stark or you can IM someone"

"That ass hole Tony" I muttered getting back into bed

"I understand he's doing it for the good of my well being but sheesh!"

Then I remembered last night and took those words back. _What happened? We were laughing like friends then it was…like somebody turned on the light bulb or something…_

I sat back down on my bed and snatched my tablet off the nightstand and IM'd Tony like Jarvis said.

_Good grief I can do this myself I don't need a lackey…_

I set down my tablet after I IM'd him I didn't ask him for food I just told him to get here, I'm allowed to get out of my room I'm not under house arrest in a random building!What is happening to the world?

I heard someone punching in their code and it was Natasha

"Hey, how you doing today?" she said sitting next to me

"Oh, okay but Tony told friggin' Jarvis to not let me out of my room because of my head thing, so I just IM'd him telling him to get here so I can make him change it"

"He's just worried about you" Natasha said seriously then a smile grew on her face "It's so cute!"

"_Shut up Nat_!" I shouted pushing her once more then she laughed so hard she cried

"What? It's hilarious!" she gasped, in the middle of her laughing streak

"No its not" I moaned "Nothing's starting!" I said my face slowly blushing

She just smiled again "Well" she began looking at her nails "Not in your eyes but in everyone else's there sure is something starting"

"Good god someone kill me" I mumbled, my hands covering my face, Natasha laughed again

That's when the idea of teasing her would be a good idea, the blush left my face as I asked her

"So…uh, how are you and Clint getting along?" I said trying so hard to cover up my smile

"What?" she said the smile leaving her face

"Oh come one Nat, everyone knows you two are meant for each other it's so obvious" I said my hand covering my mouth, muffling my words, but they were clear enough to be understood.

I looked at Natasha, her face was as red as her hair, her eyes were full of humiliation and love but she tried so hard to hide it.

"Were not a couple" she stated, then I gave her a look and then she said "Well yes I mean we pretended to be a couple while we were agents but…no more no less!"

"Oh yes '_pretending_' I _see_ well…"

"_Ali_!" Natasha was on her feet "Were not together!"

"Oh I _know_, but you two need to be together you're perfect for each other" I said getting up circling her

"I mean you two do the same things, and well he saved your life and you two both fought to the death at Budapest, oh! What a _great_ love story!"

"Ali…" Natasha said her voice was bland now

"Hmm…I wonder if I should tell Clint about this"

"Ali"

"What?"

"I don't just like him, Ali, I love him but still, you're not telling a soul!" Natasha said her finger pointed at me

"I won't but I'm sure everyone else already knows" I informed her, Natasha's face was red she was so embarrassed you could probably feel the heat radiating off her face.

"Okay, so were even, you made fun of me and my" I coughed "_man_ and I made fun of you and yours, so I think we should help each other relationship wise, mainly you because I'm defiantly not in a relationship with that son of a bitch" I told her, she just smiled slowly.

I held up a finger, "You're not teasing me remember"

She snapped her fingers and made a pouting face "Alright sounds good to me" she smiled "But I still say you two make a good couple"

"Yeah, right me, twenty seven year old with a forty something year old man…hmmm…cute couple" I stated making a weird face

"Like that right there" Natasha said pointing at me, Natasha was sitting on the floor while I was sitting on the bed; Natasha was sitting criss-cross apple sauce "The sarcastic comments, and your fiery temper that you get now and then, its basically like, the same person-just different genders and crap"

I nodded sort of understanding but sort of not at the same time.

"That's why I think that" Natasha said

"Where the hell is Tony? I IM'd him to come so he could deactivate the lock thing he made Jarvis do" I hissed, my hands gripping on my knees.

Natasha sighed and got up "I'll get em'"

Natasha got up and left the room, and minutes later came back but Tony wasn't with her she turned to me and said.

"Tony said he won't do it until he can tell that your better and apparently he has Jarvis recording you right now or something cuz' he doesn't see any improvement in you" she just shrugged and sat back down on the floor again.

I stared at her "You don't think he heard that conversation do you?"

Her jade eyes widened and then she burst out laughing "Oh man if he did I got to be there for what he says to _that_!"

I felt my blush coming back to my face once more as I talked to Natasha.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Ali was lying in her bed playing The Legend of Spyro, hours after the conversation with Natasha, Ali and Natasha both agreed not to talk about that for now knowing that Tony was recording their every move. I was in my Spyro world, as I was playing I heard, yet again someone else punching in their code the door clicked open and to my surprise it was Steve.

"Oh!" I said stunned "Hey, Steve"

"Hi Ali" he said his eyes were very sympathetic

"What do you want?" I asked, pausing my game

"Nothing I just wanted to check and see if you could walk, Bruce wanted to do some tests on your skull in case if it's fractured"

My stomach flip flopped once more, but not in a nervous way, it was the fear of dying way.

"Uh" I cleared my throat "Uh, yes lets go"

"Alright" Steve said helping me up, I grabbed his hand his grip was firm but yet gentle

Once I got up I walked with over to the lab, with some stumbles along the way; I went inside and saw Bruce taking off his glasses, and Tony was standing next to him his arms were crossed and his eyes were full of concern.

"Alright" Bruce said waving Steve away "Steve told you about what I think is wrong"

"Yes" I said looking down onto the ground, feeling horrible

"Well how do you feel right now?" he asked

_Scared…_I thought instantly "A little woozy"

"Do you have a headache? Migraines? Anything like that?"

"A little…" I murmured

"Okay well come with me Ms. Henderson" right when he said that I glanced over at Tony with amusement glimmering in both our eyes but then instantly I remembered last night and the humor left both of our eyes.

_He must remember last night too _I realized noticing that he too looked uncomfortable by my presence.

"Ali?" Bruce said calmly "You coming?" he said I turned to him.

"Yes, Sorry"

"Its okay" he said pointing to the glass cage that was set up for me.

"This is for Bone fractures in any specific area" Bruce explained while I stepped inside "It will scan everything that is broken and will tell us how to fix it and what its symptoms may be over time" he said. I heard him call for Tony to help him with the examining.

"You're the doctor" I said, with a nervous smile

Bruce just glanced up from his computer and gave me a quick smile and looked back down to his work. Tony glanced up and said "Calm down Ali your fine, you're not dying"

"I know…it's just worrisome" I said looking at all of the scanners around me, the cage was full of mechanical ligaments and things but, mostly scanners of all kinds.

"All right" Bruce said clapping his hands together "Now just stand still Ali while we scan you, I'll tell you when their done"

I nodded and stood as still as I could but of course when I do this, I shake and get off balance so not completely still. The machine beeped and multicolored lasers came flashing around my body and scanned up and down so many times my eyes began to hurt, but I was patient and waited till Bruce said I could come out. And after fifteen minutes of standing it made a loud beep.

"_Bone scanning complete Dr. Banner_" Jarvis informed Bruce; he just nodded "Alright Ali you can come out now"

I slyly walked out and walked over and leaned over Bruce's shoulder and looked at the window that was brought up on the screen. It was of how I was positioned only…in bones, I watched as Bruce zoomed in the visual in on my head and searched for the fracture, there was a small crack but it didn't seem to be to the point where it could harm my brain or anything.

"Nice bone structure there" Tony smirked, I shoved him.

"Yeah, yeah go jump a lake" I muttered, but not in my usual joking tone.

He looked confused but I simply mouthed 'I'll tell you later.'

"Well…" Bruce said looking at the skull "There's nothing to say at the moment but I'll get back to you on this as soon as I can Ali"

"Take your time Doctor" I said calmly, I stayed for only a few seconds longer before leaving and apparently Tony took this as an opportunity to talk to me, he sprinted over to me and called behind him "I'll walk Ali to her room Bruce"

The doctor just nodded and started writing things down, as we walked into the lab Tony grabbed my shoulders and to my surprise he gripped onto them very tightly.

"Okay what's up with you? You weren't in your usual joking mood today, so I figured something was wrong"

"It's just last night"

"What about it?" he said, looking completely dumfounded, sliding his hands off of my shoulders.

I gave him a stupid look as if to say '_have you lost your collective rockers_?' "We almost…kissed, don't you remember that?"

He was silent for a moment, he was remembering that night, we were fighting over how I was wanting to leave and how he so desperately wanted me to stay. And then after a few jokes we looked into each other's eyes and stayed that way till one of us leaned in closer…and closer till our lips barley grazed the other, then…our eyes opened realizing what almost took place, and regretting every move, every look that we gave each other.

Tony just blinked and let out a deep sigh

"Why don't we just not talk about it?" I said "I mean that seems like the best option, because it's just…not right I mean, were obviously- I mean the age difference, and stuff…" My voice trailed off, realizing I wasn't making a lick of sense.

He just looked me up and down his brown eyes glancing from my feet to my face and in-between. He didn't know what to say either, he was obviously too embarrassed or too ashamed to even speak of that night or maybe it was something else…something that hasn't been discovered.

"You okay?" I asked him, my voice was full of deep concern

"I fine" he whispered, and then he seemed to be getting back to normal saying "The real question is, are _you _okay? I mean first getting hit by Thunder-Head and living, and then fainting every second, you better get to your room" he said helping me down the hall.

As we walked down the hall, and me, well, stumbling a little bit I couldn't help but think about that night, it's just hard not to forget. I mean who couldn't forget a night like that? You're with some guy who's one of your friends and then you almost kiss, who forgets that?

When we made it to my room, Tony punched in his code and gave me a gentle push on the back and set me down on my bed, I pulled my hair back and got situated on the bed. He was about to leave, but a question entered my head and I couldn't leave this alone but I just had to ask.

"Tony?"

"Yup?"

I bit my lip but I couldn't leave it "Are we ever going to be the same after that night?"

He paused and let out a sigh "I don't know but…let's just try not to talk about it okay?" he said his eyes were full of confusion.

"It's kinda hard not to" I said, nodding slightly

"Well" he said his voice sounding like he was about to make a joke "You wanted that to happen didn't you?" he said, holding back a smile I just rolled my eyes and nodded.

"Oh _yes _I've always wanted to make out with a man who's twenty years older than me" I said sarcastically

"Never stopped me" he said shrugging, I just smiled.

After a few minutes of silence he said "We'll talk about this later" as he opened the door and strutted out of the room.

"Yeah…right" I mumbled, even though he was gone.

I sat in my room wondering, why this was happening, I fell into my pillow and thought about it for hours and slowly sleep took me once more.

I opened my eyes and found myself once more in my room; the sunlight was seeping into the glass as my vision cleared at the scenery I got up and brushed my hair and teeth and all of the regular things people do in the morning. I then got out my laptop and just began to read the newspaper headlines and watched cancelled TV shows on Hulu, as I was watching '_The Secret Circle_' I heard someone punching in their code, I glanced up to see Natasha coming in.

"Hey" she said with a smile "How did the scan go?"

"Long" I said pausing my show "Believe me it was _long_" I said minimizing my internet browser window.

Natasha just nodded her eyes glancing at my legs "Can you walk?"

I hummed a yes; Natasha's jade eyes glanced to the ground as if she was thinking "Are you up to a mission?"

"A mission?" I echoed, stunned "well-I-yeah" I stumbled, I mean I couldn't believe I was asked to do a mission but then a question daunted me.

"What about Clint? Couldn't he go?" I asked looking up at her

"Yes, but he's out on…business" Natasha said biting her lip "And I need a second person to come with me, are you in or out?" she said her eyes turning hard.

"Yup, but what kind of mission is it?" I asked, before I went I had to know what I was doing first, before I actually _did_ it.

"Well…" Natasha began "It's a recruitment thing, Fury wants me to interview a certain someone and…I just need backup in case something happens"

"So where are we meeting this person at?" I asked getting out of my bed sheets

"It's a she, and were meeting her tomorrow night at a dance sort of thing" she said "So you might want to…dress up" Natasha stated blandly, looking me up and down.

"Um, yes problem bout that uh…I have a bushy eyebrows and a Mario mustache" I said pointing to my face "And other hairy places" I trailed off, like my arms, my fingers are somewhat hairy I'm like a specimen, who's been taking hair samples, my mother was right we _can_ grow hair.

"Okay" Natasha sighed "I'll help out with that, and even better I'll give you one of my dresses" she said giving me a look as if to say '_Good girl you're gonna have a social life!_' oh yes goodie for me.

"Okay let the waxing begin!" Natasha said goofily, walking out of my room with me following.

It took about 3 hours of waxing and bleaching for my mustache and my other hairy spots…Good god it was murder, it felt like the skin was being torn off my flesh.

As I left the bathroom in my room I fell onto my bed screaming 'halleluiah' with Natasha laughing holding the pieces of wax strips in her hands she walked over and sat next to me.

"I think you're mother was right" Natasha stated throwing the strips into the trash can.

"About what?" I asked lifting my head off of my heavenly bed.

"That your arms are like a hairy gorillas" Natasha burst out laughing leaning against me

I gave her a sick smile and went "Thank you, it's always nice to know that somewhere in the roots of your family ancestry is Cousin It" I said grabbing the Sprite from my nightstand but to my dismay it was warm and I let out a loud 'ack!' and Natasha laughed at me once more I quickly set the beloved warm Sprite back on the nightstand.

"You ready to see the dress?" she asked her jade eyes sparkling with happiness.

"Yeah" I mumbled getting in a comfortable seating position

Natasha went over to a certain spot on the floor and grabbed a red strapless dress; Natasha flipped it over and showed me that it was backless as well. I gave her a confused look and pointed at the back while she walked over to me.

"How is it going to stay on my body if it's strapless _and _backless?" I pointed out; Natasha just grinned and showed me that there were strings that you had to tie on the back of it.

"Oh…" I said trailing off, Natasha looked disappointed "You don't like it?" she said, her voice was dripping in sorrow and utter disappointment.

"Oh, no it's beautiful; it's just a little out of my comfort zone…low cut in the front and-_Backless_?" I swallowed "It's just the opposite of me"

Natasha shrugged and said "Well we all need to get out of our comfort zone once and a while" she stated setting the dress down "Well, I'd better go, remember we leave tomorrow night" she smiled. I nodded, somewhat excited but also nervous as well but I didn't understand why, I mean I'm leaving the tower but why did I feel like something bad was going to happen?

Natasha left the room without a goodbye; I sighed and rested my head on my comfy memory foam pillow. I started to get drowsy when my tablet ringed I let out a moan and jumped off my bed and swiped my tablet off of my desk. I got and IM from Tony again telling me to go to the lab, saying that he had something for me I let out a irritable huff and marched out of my room.

Once I tapped in my code I opened the door and walked in, Bruce wasn't in the lab he was probably doing some research on my fractured skull; Tony however was adding some finishing touches onto the armored gloves he made for me.

"What do you want?" I sighed, standing in front of his work table.

"Nice to see you too" he mumbled, motioning his finger indicating that he wanted me to come over to him.

As walked over he was getting the armored gloves off of the table, once I was beside him he handed them to me, I glanced up at him; he was looking expectant.

I sucked my cheeks and observed them "Uh…are you expecting something?"

He just smirked and gave me a circular stone thing with engravings on it; I glanced up at him and gave him an idiotic look.

"What you want me to do with this? Go skip it on a lake?" I said sarcastically

"_No_, see that blue light beside the wrist?" he said pointing to it, on the left and right gloves was a blue light with the same engravings on it as the stone did, I nodded.

"Press it up against it" he ordered tapping the light.

I rolled my eyes and did so; the gloves suddenly began to change shape and size as they slowly became two rings that fit my fingers. I stared in awe as he took the rings out of my hands and put them on my fingers, I just smiled in astonishment.

"This is great, thanks Tony for this" I said with a smile.

"You're welcome Ms. Henderson" he muttered.

We stared at each other only for a second then we both whirled around and went back to our work, an idea sprouted as I was looking at the stone. I grabbed a metal circle piece that is used in jewelry and put it through the tiny little hole in it and got a chain and pulled it through the ring. While finishing that I put it around my neck, this is fantastic now I can wear the rings and the stone thing in case anything bad happens! Now I don't have to worry about that unknown thing I was worrying about!

I was in such a daze off happiness I whirled around in circles and wrapped my arms around Tony's neck; he looked so confused and startled at the same time.

"What the hell is with you and these sudden outbursts?" he said, surprised

"Tony thank you so much for finishing this, I was scared that something was going to happen tomorrow and now I don't have to worry anymore!"

He gave me a weird look and his eyes squinted a little "Are you high?" he said with a smirk one his face.

I just giggled and stayed in this position for a few seconds, our eyes locked again, his dark eyes never leaving mine. I swallowed, _I can't break away but yet I want this to last a little longer, but…it's wrong it's _very _wrong!_

My wavy hair fell in front of my face, I only hoped that, that broke our trance but it didn't Tony just moved it and tucked the curly strand behind my ear. I searched his face for a look to show that he wasn't going to do what might happen again. I flinched slightly when I realized that his hands were around my waist, I found it weird for a moment but then I realized _where else is he supposed to put his hands? My face?_

He pulled me a bit closer; my heart skipped a beat, my stomach fluttered, my palms got sweaty, the blood began to rush to my face into a bright red blush. I wanted to say something to stop him but something told me to stay quiet, but it was so tempting to say something to make this stop, all of these awkward moments.

Once again one of us leaned in, and again I still wasn't sure who did, we leaned in closer…and closer and then are lips were barley grazing. But I hesitated, I didn't understand what was going on it felt like it was happening so fast but yet it's been going on for almost five minutes. Then I became irritated on how this was taking so long so I leaned in and pressed my lips against his, I was a bit nervous with this…but I couldn't exactly walk away from it I mean what would _you _do? I would honestly like to know, without hurting your friends feelings if you were in a moment where you two were leaning in about to kiss and yet you were hesitant, would you kiss him back? Or just walk away and scar him inside? I would honestly like to know.

To my surprise he didn't take the kiss any further it was just, closed mouthed, so I was partially thankful for that but at the same time disappointed. I kept kissing him my arms tightening around his neck, I tried not to take this further, because quite honestly, I didn't know where to go from here, I've never kissed a guy! I've only kissed my mom on the cheek other than that, first time.

My arms were still coiling around his neck, but then I slowly put my hands on his shoulders.

_I…need air…_ I thought desperately, at that exact moment Tony broke away for a few seconds, I let out a gasp of air and his lips pressed against mine once more. I let out a tiny gasp when he gently bit my bottom lip; I then stiffened when I felt his tongue graze my mouth.

_What do I do? I'm so, lost at this point…Oh duh!_

I opened up my mouth slightly, letting him in; _this is weird…and, I don't know if I should break away…it's wrong, but why does it feel like this was supposed to happen? _He began feeling my mouth with his tongue for awhile then slyly let it out.

_My turn…_ I thought mischievously _Wait-why did I think that? No that's wrong…_ But yet my tongue grazed his lower lip practically begging for entrance, to Ali's surprise he obliged letting her in, but I was too scared…I didn't know what to do…so I just did random things with my tongue. While I was doing that, Tony's hands slid up and down my sides, my stomach fluttered, I felt…scared…but yet safe…and loved. Then after that we finally broke away, I was gasping for air, and possibly a cold room…my face was seriously a furnace after that, not from the lack of air but from complete embarrassment and…something else…something more…but I don't know what it could be.

I was still in his arms, I looked up at him, and he was looking down at me his brown eyes were full of confusion, for some reason I felt like crying but…why? I don't understand.

"What's happening?" I whispered, looking at him searching for a reasonable explanation.

"…I don't know but whatever it is I think it's something we've never felt before" he whispered back, his mouth was still just as close as it was a second ago.

I gave him a slight nod and felt the blood rushing into my face even more.

_I don't really know where to go from here either…_I thought.

I flinched slightly when I realized my hands were on his chest, I slowly slid them off and looked at the ground, my eyes began to water once more.

"I'm sorry" I gasped, my hand covering my bottom lip "I'm so sorry!" I then sprinted out of the room, trying to wipe the tears from my eyes as I took a right turn. _Why did this happen? And why _me_ of all people? I hope no one saw, what if the cameras caught that? What would Fury do? Would he exclude me from the Avengers? _

Once I was finally at my door, I punched in the code, the door clicked and I was allowed entrance. I ran inside and quickly shut the door locking it as well. I spun around and landed on my bed, back first; with a squeak, I wiped my eyes and I began to break out in heaving sobs and gasps as the world caved in around me.

My wet eyes opened up to the dawn light, I moaned, last night was like a horrible first time thing, like when you have your first beer you think it's amazing then the next day you have a hangover. And I _felt_ like I had a hangover I looked horrible, nothing new there, but I still felt horrible. I slowly got up out of my bed and got ready for the day, once I had finished changing clothes I decided to go to the entertainment room and get breakfast. I walked over to my door and opened it.

As I was walking out I saw Natasha, she was looking beautiful as usual, her red hair was full of bouncy curls and her jade eyes were outlined with brown eye liner and mascara the agent walked up to me and smiled.

"Hey Ali" then she realized how wet my eyes looked "Hey-what's wrong?" she asked, her voice full of concern.

I kept walking with her right by my side, I definitely _not_ telling her what happened, unless of course she uses her spy skills on me and somehow makes me tell her what happened. I glanced at her she was still waiting for an answer; I hesitated, should I tell her? Or should I leave this to myself? Normally if this was High school, I would tell my best friend, probably, I'm not making soul promises here, but it's a fifty-fifty chance that I would tell her. But this was different, this definitely was _not _High school, and I was absolutely not in love with a high school kid, and the girl who I'm friends with has a history of horrifying people into telling her the truth, seducing them, sleeping with them, or threatening them so, you know, the usual best friend.

Natasha was still staring at me, but to my surprise she didn't look impatient just concerned I sighed.

"Natasha?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm entitled to have secrets right? Without you trying to force them out of me?"

She paused, as if to think about what I said, as if it was a joke or a serious question she just glanced up at me.

"I suppose" she said curtly.

"Well, please just this once, don't try to make me tell you" I muttered, Natasha just seemed upset and concerned, but also intrigued.

"Alright" she murmured "If it's that important to keep secret, then I won't bother trying to make you tell me"

"Thank you" I murmured, I then wanted to change the subject as we walked down the long, pointless hallway.

"So…when was this dance thing?" I asked Natasha, I had to talk about something without thinking about last evening.

"It's around 6:30, so we'll have to get started on the" she made a fake cough "_Transformation_"

I smirked, "Well, The last time I got dressed up was at Homecoming, but that's history now" I told her.

"Did you enjoy it?" she asked

I shook my head "I just told my friends that I enjoyed it because my friend gave me her dress and my other friend did my make-up and stuff and were bugging me about it _months_ before it was even mentioned"

Natasha smiled as we entered the entertainment room "Well, at least you went so they wouldn't be bugging you about it next year" I gave her a dumb look.

She stared at me "They didn't?"

I shook my head "Not at the slightest, no, they kept telling me to go again"

"Well" Natasha said, walking over to the couch to sit down "This will be different"

_I can only hope…_I thought, walking over to the kitchen, I got a huge bowl-full of cereal and went over and sat next to Natasha. Once I sat down I turned on the holographic television, I began flipping through channels, there wasn't much on, except for some soap opera, Natasha stared at me.

"You watch Soap Opera's?" she asked, staring at me like I was her mortal enemy now.

"No" I laughed "I hate watching them but, there's nothing on" I shrugged; Natasha swiped the remote from my lap, and hit the TV guide.

"Friends, is on" Natasha mumbled, clicking on the TBS channel box.

"Well there's nothing on besides that" I said, smiling, I had just started watching Friends and I really began to enjoy it.

Natasha smiled at some of the things that were said on the TV as she got up and got some breakfast for herself.

"So who's your favorite character?" I heard Natasha ask from the back of the room.

"Well…I think Joey because, his personality is friggin' hilarious" I said, laughing thinking about some of the episodes.

"Yeah, I think he's pretty goofy too" I heard her voice more clearly now, so she had to walking over to the couch.

I then saw Natasha sit down and she began eating an apple with a side of carrots, I stared at her food, _man she's eating a healthy breakfast, dang, and I thought it was crazy eating a chocolate cake for breakfast…this takes the-uh…apple in this case_. I had just finished the last of my milk when I heard, someone say my name, I turned.

It was Bruce, he was walking over, he was fiddling with his glasses, obviously uncomfortable interrupting.

"Ali, I have something I think you might want to see" he said, his voice was dripping with drowsiness and worry.

Natasha just looked at Bruce, her eyes were full of worry herself, I just looked at one hero to the next.

"Uh, okay sure lets go" I said setting my bowl down on the glass table "Put that in the sink would you Nat?" I asked.

"Sure" she said with a worried smile, as she walked over to the kitchen.

"Now Ali" Bruce began as we entered the hallway "What I'm going to show you may not be easy to cope with" he said. I swallowed what could he mean by _that_? Was I going to die or something? Although that was unlikely but yet somewhat possible, I stayed calm and followed the doctor into the lab and took a left turn. Then we entered the Scanning room, there, I saw Tony he was sitting in a spinney chair his eyes were glued to the screen, his eyes looked full of drowsiness as well and sorrow.

"What's going on?" I asked, my arms were crossed, as I stared at the two geniuses, they glanced at each other and then looked at me.

"Ali" Bruce said as Tony got up and sat me down in his chair "You know your Bone fracture?"

I nodded, blinking thoughtfully at Tony when he sat me down in the chair.

"Well…I'm afraid there's a slight problem" Bruce said glancing at the screen

"What kind of problem are you talking about doctor?"

He sighed "When Thor hit you with his hammer" he began "Your skull cracked, obviously, but of course your brain expands when something like that happens"

I nodded remembering that being said in Health class.

"Okay, well that happened, and then for three days straight, you kept fainting, correct?"

Once again I nodded.

"And you kept having tiny migraines, right?"

I nodded again.

"Okay, well, because of that, you might, have to be excluded from the Avengers"

I froze; did he say what I just heard him say? Gone, I'll never come back.

"Why?" I whispered, when he didn't answer I raised my voice, though hating to do so to such a kind person.

"_Why_?"

"Ali" Tony said turning to me "I know this isn't easy but…You have to _prove_ to S.H.I.E.L.D that you can still go on _without fainting_ or having a slight loss of memory"

_I'm definitely not losing my memory if I can remember some of these crazy scandals going on I can remember me being in a tower, in curtsey of a Billionaire/hero who I'm somewhat falling for_ I thought.

"It's not as easy as it sounds" Tony said, holding up a hand, as if he heard my recent thoughts "Your fainting and slight migraines, might be some symptoms of loss of memory, and _if _Fury finds out about this, you have to prove to him that your fine, which isn't as simple as all that"

"So S.H.I.E.L.D doesn't know about this?" I asked them, my brown eyes glancing up at both of them, they shook their heads.

"Tony put this on a private server, for me, and for good measure on a ghost drive as well" Bruce explained glancing at him.

"Yup, and if they try to hack into it, they'll get one heck of a virus"

"But won't that arouse suspicion?" I asked them

Tony just waved me away like a little kid "Forget it, Ali, nothing's going to happen, and if it does, we'll defend you"

I just dazed at the ground, too much has happened in these past few days, first I get hit by a godly hammer, then I almost get kissed by Tony, next day I do, then I find out oh; I'm gonna be excluded because of a dumb God!

"Ali?" Bruce said, staring at me, breaking me out of my trance "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I think" I said slowly getting up, out of the chair "I have to go get ready" I said walking out.

"For _what_?" Tony asked, in a daze.

"A dance" I said flatly.

"_What_?"

I just chuckled and left the room giving them a random peace sign.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The sun began to set over the buildings of New York, as two women got ready for a formal in Stark Towers.

"Alright" Natasha said using a curling iron on my hair "Now, I'm not _curling _your hair per-say I'm using it like this to make your hair, look more…naturally curly"

"But…my hair's curly to begin with" I said, sitting on the toilet seat.

"Yes, and no" Natasha said, going to another strand "You have natural curl and _wave_ that's different"

I gave her a tiny shrug "Well, whatever, I think it's somewhat curly"

While she was on her last five strands of hair Natasha noticed the silver rings on my middle fingers.

"What are those?" she asked, her jade eyes glancing from the curling iron, to the silver ring.

"What does it look like?" I asked, lifting up a hand "There rings"

"Well, yes but-hey why's there a blue light on the side?" Natasha asked, intrigued.

"Uh…" I tried to think of the right words, and then I just gave up.

_Might as well tell her _I thought "It's those gloves Tony made for me"

"Gloves?" she said going to the next strand of hair.

"Yeah, like on his Iron Man suit, just…smaller and fit for me" I mumbled.

"Well that was nice" she said, moving on to the last strand of hair.

"Yeah, it was" I said looking at them, then panicking when I remember the stone I felt my chest for it, and it was still around my neck, I let out a sigh of relief.

"So you can fly and use energy weapons" she said, with a hint of humor in her voice "And your man gave it to you how sweet!" she said letting out a loud laugh, I waited till she was done with the iron and set it down before I shoved her.

"Alright you're already in the dress" Natasha thought aloud "Now make-up" she said grabbing a mascara packet.

A few minutes after she was done with the make-up and lipstick and all that other stuff, she set down all of her stuff.

"All right! Were ready now, let's go" Natasha said grabbing a miniature tazer and hiding it in her slim belt, along with a small gun.

"This is the first time I go somewhere and my friend brings a gun and other weapons" I muttered.

Natasha smirked and walked out of the room with me following like a puppy.

As we left my room and entered the entertainment room, Natasha stopped.

"What?" I asked her, she turned around "I forgot something, wait here Ali" she said walking off in her black skin-tight dress.

Once she was out of earshot I just sighed and sat on the couch, I began to think.

_I wonder who this girl is…will she be nice? Or a total jerk…I'll find out soon_

I then glanced at the stone around my neck I began to look at the engravings; every so often it would flash a blue light, making you see the engravings clearer in an eerie blue glow.

"Like the armor?" I whirled around, it was Tony.

"Good god!" I gasped "You are a spy, first you stalk me and now you give me a heart attack, you need to slow down there son" I said. He just smirked; he had his hands in his pockets and was looking around.

"Where's Nat?" he asked, with a look of confusion.

"She said she forgot something, probably some smoke bombs" I muttered, Tony just laughed and sat down beside me.

We sat in silence for a while; I then glanced at Tony he was staring at me.

"What?" I asked, looking at him.

He put a hand behind his head "Uh…nothing you just look" he slid his hand off of his head "Beautiful"

The blood rushed to my face again, I quickly turned away from him, I don't want him teasing me about my easy embarrassment but he didn't he just turned my head with his fingers gently.

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about" he whispered, his eyes not leaving mine, though I so desperately wanted to look away. After last evening I can't seem to be normal around him anymore, though I try it fails miserably.

His two fingers was still on my chin, I looked at him, he was giving me that look again, but this time it wasn't exactly a trance, it was more of a serious thing, he really meant it.

"Thank you" I whispered back, feeling bad for not giving him a compliment I whispered "You look nice too"

He did a slight laugh, but it didn't last long, his fingers were off of my chin now, I was a bit relived I let out a tiny sigh, and swallowed are eyes were still somewhat locked. Now this time I noticed, he leaned in slightly, I panicked, Natasha will be here any second! What if she sees this?

I had to speak; I tried to ignore the passion in this moment and tried to make my mouth open.

"Tony"

"Yeah?"

"Now isn't the time for this"

"Not in my book" he murmured.

I let out a quiet agitated sigh, "Tony please, Natasha will be here any minute" I pleaded quietly.

He sighed too, and glanced over to where the hallway meets the room, I listened closely.

Footsteps, heels, it was Natasha.

"Alright Ali" She said adjusting her slim belt under her dress "I got everything lets-" she paused "Hello Mr. Stark"

"Hello Agent Romanov" he said, sarcastically.

She rolled her jade eyes "Are you coming or not Ali?" she sighed.

"Yup" I said getting up "What did you forget anyway?" I asked, walking up to her.

"Some other weapons we might need" she said heading toward the elevator.

"So where exactly are you guys going?" Tony asked breaking up the conversation.

"To meet someone" Natasha said curtly.

"Is this someone of the opposite gender?" he said, giving her a wink, Natasha cleared her throat.

"That's none of your business" she said as she glanced at me irritably as I giggled.

"Aw, come on Nat, you can tell a friend" He said.

"I already have" Natasha said smiling at me "Let's go Ali"

"Right-o" I said in between laughs, I turned around "goodbye Mr. Stark" I teased.

"Goodbye Ms. Henderson" he said calmly, hitting the down button, as we were both in the elevator.

Then the elevator hummed while the glass door closed and sent us down twenty floors, the floor jerked and the doors hesitated before opening, then the two ladies walked out ready to meet the new recruit.

"Alright" Natasha said walking out of the glass doors into the glorious light show of New York, I stared in awe as I saw all of the building lights and its wondrous beauty, advertisements for certain movies and games were flashing off of buildings, and many building lights were on.

"Let's go" Natasha said, looking at me, I smiled slightly and walked over to the car it was a red foreign car, possibly an Italian one, I'm not good with cars but I could tell it was a nice one that costs thousands. Natasha opened the car door and stepped inside, I went into the seat next to the driver side. It was a nice car, I looked around for some CD's as Natasha shut the door and put her seat belt on, she looked at me.

"You can tell Jarvis, to play a song for you; Tony installed him in the car as well" she informed me, I nodded.

"Alright then" I said looking up at the ceiling of the car "Jarvis?" I said, waiting for a response.

"Yes Ms. Ali?" I smiled, _I like this car_ I thought, "Play Shoot the Thrill" I said, I sort of liked that song but it was the first thing that came to mind, I have a weird taste in songs.

"Yes, Ms. Ali" Jarvis said, then instantly the song began to play, I just smiled, then ACDC was playing in the car at full blast.

"Too loud?" I asked Natasha, as she started the engine, she just shook her head "I'm fine, this is a good song" she said slowly blinking.

Then the car began to move, I watched the lights of Stark Towers disappear behind us as I looked at the other buildings then a question entered my head, but before I could ask, Natasha wanted to play another song.

"Play Angel of Darkness" Natasha said, blandly with a slight smile.

"Yes, Ms. Romanov" Jarvis replied, playing the hard rock song.

"Natasha?" I asked, as she stopped at the stop light.

"Yeah?"

"Where is this place?"

Her hands gripped the wheel "It's not exactly formal, Ali" she said glancing at me then back at the stoplight "it's at a club sort-of thing" Ali thought that was all she had to say but she continued "And this girl…you'll like her but, She has a condition, she can control it very well but she left another band of supers and she decided that, that place just wasn't for her tastes" she said stepping on the gas when the light turned green taking a right turn. "So if you see her, and she shows you her condition, don't be scared, her condition has made people run in fear of her, for something so idiotic I could shoot them in the head" she growled, taking a left then another left "And after she left her band of supers, she worked for me and Clint for awhile, she's a good agent and I taught her how to concentrate on what she wants most, to be normal" Natasha went to a slow stop at a stop sign, she shut her eyes and let out a sad sigh.

"And she's finally learned how to control her 'condition'" she said, her voice quivering "She's a sweet girl and she deserves to be treated fairly" she said stepping on the gas again. I stared at her, she obviously knew her well, and worried about her a lot so I nodded.

"I won't be scared, I promise" I told her, smiling, my eyes were about to water but I held them back.

I then turned to the window and gasped when I realized that we were in the darker streets of New York, there were beggars and prostitutes standing around the alley ways, watching us.

"Nat" I said, sounding like a little girl calling for their mother.

"Yeah"

"Are you sure you should've picked _this car_?" I said watching the people who were glaring at us, I was tempted to stick my tongue out at them and make a goofy face.

"Don't worry about them stealing it or 'doing it' on the car Tony took care of that"

"How?" I asked, looking at her stupidly.

"He installed tazers on the car when I hit the security button on the car so whoever touches it or does whatever on it will be paralyzed" she said smiling.

Then the car came to a complete stop at a rough looking bar, I swallowed, who would come here for a meeting?

As I got out of the car I ignored the men saying sexual comments about me and Natasha, I rolled my eyes. Then we went into the bar and Natasha glared at everyone who looked at us.

"So where is she?" I shouted over the loud music.

Natasha heard me but didn't answer her jade eyes widened like a cat as she searched the room, then she smiled and pointed.

"Right there" she said smiling, I followed her arm and saw a young girl, close to my age, she had brown hair with bangs, and dark hazel eyes she must have seen Natasha, she smiled and ran over.

"Hi!" she shouted, hugging Natasha "I haven't seen you in years!"

"I know" Natasha said, still smiling then the girl looked at me with a big smile on her face, I couldn't help but smile back, she seemed very friendly.

"Ali, this is Amelia Bankheart, Amelia this is Ali Henderson, she's one of our newest recruits" she informed her.

Amelia smiled and shook hands with me "Nice to meet you Ali"

"Like-wise" I said, she seemed so kind and caring, but one question came up in my head that I had to ask but I had a feeling that I should leave it alone.

"Let's get into the car and then we can discuss things in Stark Towers" Natasha suggested, turning around and leaving the bar. As we went out to my surprise all of those prostitutes we saw, and burglars and other things did try to take the car or do something else to it, because they were all on the ground shaking.

"Thank you Tony Stark" I muttered, Natasha laughed.

"This is one of Tony's cars?" Amelia asked, stunned.

"Apparently" I replied with a shrug, I then smiled at Amelia "I friggin love this car"

Amelia smiled back "Why? I understand it's a foreign car and it's beautiful" she said while looking at her eyes getting big "But what's so special about it?"

I just smiled as I went to the side seat "You'll see" I was making a big deal over a stupid British sounding computer installed in a car, yeah I'm a nerd alright.

Once everyone was in the car, Natasha adjusted her mirrors, and Amelia, who was in the back then leaned in beside me and asked "Okay, now what's cool about this car?"

"Jarvis?" I looked up at the ceiling

"Jarvis?" Amelia echoed.

"Yes Ms. Ali" Jarvis replied "What song would you like?"

"Oh, play What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction" Amelia burst out loud; I stared at her then burst out laughing.

But I didn't have to say anything, the song was already playing and Amelia went crazy and shouted.

"_Yes_! _I love this car_!" then Amelia just sat there and started singing, which was when me and Natasha broke we couldn't take it, we burst into laughter.

The ride back was full of horrible singing and giggles.

Once we made it back to Stark Towers, we all got out of the car and slammed the doors, my sides hurt from all the laughing that we had done. Natasha speed walked over to the doors and opened them for us and we walked inside.

Amelia seemed intimidated by the size of the building, which was understandable, I remember my first day here was intimidating being picked for no reason whatsoever and then, becoming friends with so many heroes it was hard to believe.

"Come on Amelia" I said, showing her to the elevator, once we were all in the elevator quickly shot us up to the twentieth floor and the doors opened up immediately, then we were all in the entertainment room, but sadly no one was there.

"Oh by the way" I said once we all walked out of the elevator doors "Tony was asking about you before we left, so don't be surprised when he flirts with you"

Amelia made a fake barf noise and we all started laughing, as we walked out of the room, then Natasha led us to my room. She tapped in her code and opened the door; Amelia seemed surprised and stared at everything.

"Alright" Natasha began "This is Ali's room, but till Tony makes your room you'll have to stay here for awhile"

"Cool room" Amelia said sitting on my bed, as Natasha left the room.

"Thanks" I said sitting down, as I grabbed my tablet on my nightstand my tablet had one unread message, I moaned.

"What?" Amelia asked scooting closer to me.

"Nothing I just got an IM most likely from Bruce or Tony"

"Bruce?" Amelia echoed, sounding intrigued "You mean, Banner?"

"Yeah" I said glancing at her "Why do you sound so interested all of a sudden?"

Amelia was taken aback "Uh, no reason I just _really _love his work"

_I bet you do_ I thought reading my message; it was again, from Tony this time saying he needed me in the lab once I got back from the meeting.

I groaned.

"What?" Amelia said, glancing at me, she was obviously thinking about something.

"Tony wants me in the lab, come on you got to come with me" I said setting my tablet down and getting off of the bed.

"Okay!" she said, pleased to be taken somewhere in the tower.

Once we were both inside the lab Tony was working on some boots that were again exactly like his iron man suit, I walked over to him while Amelia was busy gawking.

"I already have gloves, Tony why in hells name should I want boots?" I asked him with my arms crossed, standing beside him.

"Because you can fly better with boots, if someone grabs onto your hand and you can't fly with that persons hand on your flight stabilizer, how are you going to fly?" he asked, turning to me.

I swallowed "Good point" I rasped, Tony just smirked and looked up and saw Amelia.

"Who's the girl?" he said nodding towards her, checking her out.

I glared at him "Well first off she's not a prostitute" I began, he smiled "And second she's not interested in you"

"Aw, I don't believe that all women love me" he said, still looking at her.

"Not this one" I said pointing to her.

He huffed "Well what's her name anyway?" he said getting back to the boot.

"Amelia Bankheart" I told him "And she has some sort of a condition, or at least that's my understanding of it anyway" I whispered.

He grunted "I bet Banner and Moneybags would get along" he smirked and began to melt some spots on the boots.

"What do you mean?" I asked, laughing at the nickname.

"Look" he said dropping his, doohickey on the table "Banner has a _condition _and so does Moneybags, there a perfect fit, they both have something they relate to"

I just nodded.

"Amelia" I called, she turned around, moving the bangs from her face.

"What?" she said walking over.

"Just want to introduce you two" I shrugged "This Tony Stark, and Tony this is Amelia Bankheart" I said as if I had never, talked about her earlier.

Amelia just nodded, and said 'hi' which irritated Tony for some reason, I just laughed.

Just then Bruce came in looking at a paper.

"Tony I've looked at every element for you and there's none that can-"he stopped as he realized he wasn't alone in the room.

"You must be Dr. Banner" Amelia said smiling, walking over to him.

"Uh-yes" Banner stuttered "Who are you?"

"I'm Amelia Bankheart, I'm a new recruit here in Stark Towers" She smiled, shaking his hand.

I couldn't help but cover up my smile; she obviously had the hots for this guy, but it was just so obvious but not for Banner apparently, I looked up at Tony he gave me a look as if to say '_Are you serious?'_ I just nodded.

I left them alone to talk on the other side of the room, while Tony was working on my boots, and I thought why not help him? So I just started handing him stuff that he asked for, at first I didn't know what they were till he described them.

"Alright we have TAC-3 done" he muttered to himself.

"Yay" I said sleepily, even though I hardly did anything I was tired.

"Now I already have the boot for TAC-4 done but I don't have the flight stabilizers in it" He mumbled, getting out another silver boot.

"Oh crap" I muttered, he smirked.

"You haven't even done anything, and you're _tired_?" he said, disbelievingly.

"Hey, hey I handed you tools and I hadn't got a clue as to what you were saying till you described em' that it's _hard work_" I told him, smiling.

He smiled back "Well, whatever, why don't you and Moneybags head out alright, Sketches?"

My shoulders drooped "Aw, man" I said sarcastically "I wanted to stay longer" I told him, walking over, grabbing a Sprite out of my refrigerator.

"Hey, hand me one of those" Tony said, making a pouting face.

"Nah, get it yourself" I said opening it as the bubbles rose to the top then slowly went down.

"Aw, Sketches come on"

"Fine" I muttered throwing it to him.

I glanced over to check on Amelia and Bruce they were still talking and laughing.

"Wow" Tony gasped as he took a gulp of the Sprite "I've never seen him talk so much to a person, other than me that is" he said watching them.

"Well I don't want to leave and ruin her companionship there" I told him.

"_Companionship_? More like a flirtship" he muttered "Big time" he said smiling.

"Go get her big guy" Tony muttered, I slapped his shoulder.

"Leave em' alone" I told him "It's no different" I stopped.

"No different than what?" he urged, wanting me to go on.

"Than us" I muttered, looking at the floor, it looks so interesting right now.

We stood in silence for awhile then Tony went back the boot, while I was still looking at the floor.

"I guess not" he muttered after the long pause "I mean we acted the same way till, you know _that_"

"Yup" I muttered, feeling the heat come to my face.

Then after a few hours Amelia wanted to go to bed, I honestly wanted to as well, we both said our goodbyes and left the room.

"Bruce is _so nice_!" Amelia was saying as I was changing in the bathroom inside my room.

"Yeah?" I said, I was finally out of the dress, then I slipped into my PJ's, then I opened the door.

"We both like the same things, and watch the same things, were so much alike!" she squealed.

"Well" I said walking over and sitting on the bed next to her "Looks like you found yourself somebody to be with" I said looking at the carpet Amelia smiled slightly and a pale blush rose on her face.

"I don't know about that" she said, getting up and going into the bathroom to put on her PJ's.

"I mean it" I said as the door shut "I mean, if you two like the same things and stuff, just…go with it" I shrugged.

After a few seconds of silence Amelia opened the door and she had on a big T-shirt that said 'Lazy Ass' and some big over sized PJ bottoms.

"Nice shirt" I said with a smile, Amelia smiled back.

"Thanks, it so fits me" she said with a laugh, sitting down on my bed.

"So getting back to the conversation earlier" Amelia began laying on my bed side-ways with her head dangling on the side "I like Bruce because I've always admired his work, not in that way whatsoever"

_That's what they all say_ I thought grabbing my tablet.

"Well whatever" I said looking through news headlines, and random Google searches, and quizzes.

Amelia got situated and got out a sleeping bag from her luggage that her mother sent her; it was covered with music notes and other miscellaneous things I looked at some of her stuff that she was laying out.

"Like your stuff" I said going back to my tablet.

"Thanks" she huffed laying out her pillow and other things, to help her sleep.

She then brought out her stuffed animal cow; I smiled, setting down my tablet and walking over to her and sitting down on the carpet.

"Cute" I said, picking up her cow, it had blue eyes; it was a white and black spotted.

"Thank you" she said zipping up her bag-full of stuff.

"I have a stuffed animal I sleep with too" I said getting up "But I didn't bring it I told my mom to save it for me, cause I'm afraid that if the tower collapses my stuffed animal would be gone, and my mom's friend went through a lot to get it so, I decided to leave it be" I said getting my tablet again, just then my tablet ringed on my lap, I jumped.

"God!" I screamed, Amelia started laughing.

I picked it up off of my lap and tapped the message icon that I made, it has a cat that I drew and it was peeking out from behind the icon waving.

Turns out I had two, one from Tony the other from Bruce.

"Oh!" I said surprised at the timing, I read it the one from Bruce was mainly about Amelia.

'Could you ask Amelia, to come over to the lab? I need her help on something, Bruce'

"Amelia"

"Yup"

"I'm gonna have to go to the lab with you since you don't have your code number yet, Bruce wants you for something, but hang on" I said just as Amelia was running to the door I read the next message that was from Tony, he needed me in the lab as well.

'Ali, I need you to test the boots, Tony' I smiled, this will be interesting, I checked to see if I had the rings and necklace on and I did. So I got off the bed and threw my tablet on the bed it landed safely on the mattress. I quickly got changed into some clothes, opened the door and slipped out of the room with Amelia trailing behind.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

I punched in my code, the door popped open as we stepped inside, and Amelia made a beeline for Bruce as I walked over to Tony.

"What do you want me to test?" I asked, then I figured out the answer right when I asked the question "Never mind I just realized" he smirked.

"Alright then let's go outside and assemble the gloves while you're at it" he said getting another pair of rings.

"What are those?" I asked pointing at the other rings.

"There the boots" He said "And once the gloves are assembled the boots will feel the reaction and assemble automatically"

"Alright" I said with a smile, I turned to Amelia "Stay here till I get back, okay?"

"Will do" she said, looking up from Bruce's paper work.

Then we walked out of the room from the back door, I paused in thought.

"Where are we going?" I asked him; it was then that I realized he had his briefcase, _Oh god…_

"Up on the roof" he said calmly "Where else Sketches?" he said walking ahead of me; I stared at the ground as I kept walking. _What a way to spend a day almost killing yourself by flying in the skies of New York._

We went up a flight of stairs and then we were at the very top of the building, my stomach churned, I don't like the idea of this but it was my fault me telling Tony how weak I was, then he sympathized deeply and made this for me, I was grateful, believe me I was, it's just _flying over New York_? Who does that? Besides Tony Stark? Not this girl.

"Alright" he said once we were both up there, he assembled his suit, and I assembled my gloves along with the rings he threw at me while his suit was being put together automatically. The rings quickly attached on my fingers and my hands. I smiled it felt so weird it getting put together all by itself, but I better get used to it, whenever there's another battle for the earth, I have to suit up and fight for my life.

"Ready?" he asked, staring at me before his mask clanked together, I shrugged.

"Okay lets rock n' roll" he said flying up a little ways till he realized I hadn't even moved "Come on" he said, his mask staring right at me.

"What do I do?" I asked him.

"Just do what you did last time when you fell" he stated.

I shut my eyes and thought of flying, it made that squeaking noise again and I felt the blast, like I was being pushed off the ground. I slowly opened my eyes and let out a squeak, I was flying, and I saw the cars moving up and down the highway, my head began to spin, I was feeling faint I was so scared I felt like I couldn't breathe.

"See you got it" I heard Tony say as I looked down "Uh yeah, key thing here, for first timers" he said flying over to me "Don't look down" he said getting my attention to look at him "It unnerves you"

I swallowed and slowly nodded "Right, got it" I said, with a slight smile.

"Now, let's get this started to move straight forward, lean you body forward, like this" he demonstrated.

Once he was done I copied him doing the same thing, then I kept going, then in my mind I told it to go faster, as I began to race him.

"Hey!" I heard him shout catching up, as I took a quick right turn, I learned pretty quickly on this, I started to laugh it was too much fun. I began to look around once I was in a straightaway; the lights of building were overwhelming I also began to go into laughter again when I saw people in their apartments giving me weird looks when I flew by, I briefly saw people mouthing 'was that Iron Man?'

I then took a right, and flew past the apartment building and went right back to Stark Towers, I landed with a loud clank and waited for Tony to come back. A few minutes later he did landing then his mask opened up so I could see his face.

"What the hell" he muttered as he walked over to me "Why do you race off like that?"

I shrugged "It was fun, and I figured out how to turn pretty quick" I told him, while I pressed my stone against the glove then they unassembled. He just watched me his eyes squinting, he just shook his head and did the same with his suit as it went back into its briefcase size he turned to me.

"Well, at least you know how to fly" he said, trying to start a conversation, I just smiled as the gloves and boots changed into rings.

"Yup" I said walking over to the door and walking back to the lab, with Tony on my sticks.

Once we came back, Amelia was in a chair asleep on Bruce's desk, I looked at her, upset, I didn't mean to take long but I wasn't expecting it to be so long.

"Well did she help you Bruce?" I asked glancing at her.

"Oh yes, very much so" he said setting his pencil down, to look at her "She's a good assistant" he said looking up at me.

"Well I'm glad she was able to help, I just wish she had a tablet so you guys could communicate more" I told him, he nodded.

Bruce then glanced over at Tony who was putting stuff away.

"Hey ,Tony"

"Yeah-huh" he said glancing up from his tools.

"Do you think you could make a tablet for her?" he asked pointing his folded glasses at the sleeping Amelia.

He shrugged "Yeah, It might take a bit though I have to clean out a room for her and design it and other crap like that, but yeah I'll make her one, big guy, you can count on it"

Bruce muttered his thanks and left the room, smiling at Amelia once more before leaving, once he was out of sight Tony glanced at me and mouthed 'wow' I started to laugh but I then covered my mouth when I realized I was next to a sleepy Amelia I then walked over to him so then we could talk.

"He tries so hard to please" Tony said, I just bent my head down as I laughed.

"You might as well wake her up" he said putting the last tool away in the shelf "She needs to be in her bed anyway not on a desk"

I walked over to her and gently shook her shoulder "Amelia" I whispered.

She let out a tiny moan and her eyes slowly opened "Where-oh hey Ali"

I smiled "Let's take you to my room" I said, helping her up.

I waved Tony goodbye and shut the door behind us as we left, Amelia then turned to me as we walked down the hallway.

"How was the test flight?" she asked, groggily, rubbing her eyes.

"It was fun" I told her, smiling "I began to race him, it was pretty funny, you should've been there"

"No, thanks, I'd rather stay with Bruce helping him with his problem" she told me her eyes blinking still waking up.

We were then in front of my door, I punched in my code and opened the door and locked it as soon as Amelia came in, I then went to my bed and covered up in the sheets as sleep slowly took me away to my world, of darkness and peace.

I woke up to the sunlight in my eyes and Amelia's footsteps, I rolled over and saw her brushing her hair, she was already out of her PJ's and she must have heard me, she turned around.

"Oh, good morning!" she said with a smile.

"Morning" I muttered I then glanced up at her "What are you doing up?" I asked.

"Jarvis informed me that I was needed in the lab and I already have my code, and my room is getting ready so, don't worry you don't have to get up yet" I relaxed, _at least she has her code so I don't have to follow her around_ I thought _Now she can be with Bruce in peace and I won't look like a stalker_. I slammed my head on my pillow and shut my eyes, my tablet ringed again, I let out a lout moan, just then I felt a poke on my shoulder, I turned it was Amelia she had my tablet in her hand.

"I hate it when that happens your phone rings and your sitting there all relaxed in a comfy spot and you have to get up" she explained handing me the tablet, I smiled and grabbed it.

I taped messages and checked to see which of the brainiacs IM'd me this time, it was Tony again, go figure.

'Hey, need some help with Moneybag's room, Tony'

I rolled my eyes and smiled and got out of bed to help.

"Who was it?" Amelia asked opening the door.

"Tony again" I sighed "He needs help with your room, but I got it don't worry you go on ahead" I told her waving her away.

She nodded and left the room.

I put on a shirt and some, tight pants and brushed my hair, I also got rid of the make-up from last night and put some on myself for the first time I brushed my teeth, and pulled my hair back and left the room.

I stopped _where the hell is Amelia's room?_ I went back into my room and grabbed my tablet and IM'd him.

'Where the hell, are you at?' I hit send and seconds later he replied back saying 'In Amelia's room dumb-ass'

I smiled and IM'd back 'I got that genius but _where_ is it at?'

'Never mind I'll come to you'

A few minutes later I saw him come over, I smiled, he's such a pain in the ass and he knows it.

"Thanks for your great direction skills" I said leaning against the wall.

"Would it kill you to say 'hi'?"

"As matter of fact it would" I stated walking over to him.

He rolled his eyes and showed me to where her room was going to be, once I made it to the door my mouth dropped.

"Holy"

He lifted up a finger "Watch your language Sketches" I laughed.

Her room was all windows it was _huge_, in the center of the room was a huge flat screen TV, along with a bar on the left side when you first came in and a kitchen on the right, there was also some seating for people who came in and her bedroom was in another room off to the far left.

"Why didn't you make my room this big?" I asked.

He shrugged "I don't know if you deserved it or not" I shoved him.

"Ass" I hissed he smiled.

"Well, you've outdone yourself" I said arms crossed.

"Green isn't your color" he muttered, I looked at him.

"I'm not jealous Tony" I said, glancing at him.

"Why don't we get her stuff and put it in her bedroom?" he suggested.

"Good idea" I said pointing at him.

"I'm full of em'" he said, I shook my head.

"No your not" I smiled.

After we got her luggage, we began to put things in her bedroom, the walls in her room was a pale cream and the floor was wood. I put her cow on her pillow, and smiled, I missed my raccoon toy but I left it at home and that's where I want it to stay along with my gaming systems I turned when I heard Tony say something sexual.

"What?" I asked looking over at him.

"Uh-nothing" I then remembered he was in charge of clothing, and delicates _Bad idea_, I rolled my eyes and walked over.

"Alright" I said snatching a bra from his hands "From now on I'm in charge of clothing"

He smiled and walked over and dealt with the bed sheets, I folded up her shirts and put them in her closet, after hours of sorting and folding we were finally done. I let out a loud sigh and a 'halleluiah' and 'praise the lord.'

"Well" I sighed, hands on my hips looking around "Let's go tell her" I said.

"Yeah where is she anyway?" he said, turning to me.

"With Bruce" I replied smiling as Tony rolled his eyes.

"Alright then let's pay Moneybags a visit" he muttered as he took one last look at the room.

As we entered the lab I looked over to see Amelia looking over Bruce's shoulder helping him with his equations, I glanced over at Tony he leaned over and whispered in my ear.

"She's like his dog she never leaves him alone" I started to laugh but I covered my mouth.

"Amelia" I called her and Bruce and Amelia both looked up from the paper.

"Yeah?" she answered, looking at me.

"Me Tony have something to show you" I said, waving her over, she whispered something to Bruce and walked over.

"What?" Amelia asked, looking at me.

"Come with us" I muttered, showing her the way to her brand new room.

Once we made it her eyes widened, her hazel eyes flickered at everything in the room, the view outside and the bar, then the doorway to her room caught her eye she walked over to her bedroom.

"Holy" she muttered, staring at everything she walked over and grabbed her stuffed cow.

"Thank you!" she said running over to me and hugging me, I started laugh, then I hugged her back.

"What are you thanking me for?" I asked her as she let go of me "Tony made the room for you" I told her.

"Yeah" Tony said walking up to her "If you ask me _I_ should be the one getting a hug not _her_" he said pointing at me.

I smiled as Amelia just stared at him and shook his hand "Thank you, Stark" she muttered, then we both started laughing.

"That's not what I meant" Tony huffed, I smiled "And it's not what she wanted" I told him.

"_Oh_" Amelia said turning to Tony "You got _told_" we started to laugh again, as Tony just crossed his arms.

Hours later we started taking that huge TV to good use by watching The Big Bang Theory and Friends on DVD.

Then as night drew near, I left her alone in her room and me and Tony left leaving her to her new room.

The door shut behind us as me and Tony left the room, I was still smiling over the shows we watched and the stuff that happened during the surprise.

"That was disappointing" he muttered, turned to him.

"Your just irritated cause she didn't give you a hug" I laughed "I think you've had enough, you've seen her bra size I think you've had enough fun for one day"

He smiled at what I just said, and walked me to my room; once we got there I turned to him.

"Well thanks for involving me in the decorating process, and the organizing" I told him, slowly blinking.

"You're welcome Ali" he muttered, his brown eyes observing me.

I let out a tired sigh and tapped my code on the glass and was allowed in, I slowly walked inside and turned to him while I held the door open.

"Wanna come in?" I offered "I don't have Sprite, but…we can watch movies on Hulu plus" I said smiling, he smiled.

"You talk like Sprite is alcohol or something" he laughed.

"It is to me" I told him.

He considered my offer for a moment and shook his head "Nah, not tonight I have to help Bruce with the element finding, and stuff"

"Need help?" I offered leaning against the door.

"You said you never did well in science so why help?" he asked raising his arms slightly.

"Because I-"I stopped myself again, he's catching me in the act, in the act of what you ask? I will not say because I do not admit to it.

Tony must have realized what I was going to say as well and his eyes darted to the floor, I did the same, then I felt his eyes being trained on me again. I looked up; he looked like he was still expecting me to say it though.

I shut my eyes, it was hard to say "Because I care" I swallowed "About you" I finished, looking back at the ground again.

He gave me a slight smile, there was a long pause then he answered "I'm glad that you care" he said leaning against the wall "But, this is something that me and Bruce need to deal with, okay?" he said, his brown eyes examining my face I nodded, and let him go at that, he turned and walked away I waited till he was out of sight then I shut the door. I let out a loud sigh and put a hand on my head _God…_I thought _what is happening to me? I'm falling for a man twice my age! _

I then put my PJ's back on and lay on my bed once more and drifted into a deep peaceful sleep.

I woke up, to Jarvis telling me the time it was exactly 8:00 am in Manhattan, I stretched and got up and took a shower, brushed my teeth, brushed my hair, put on make-up, got dressed, the usual crap. I then got my tablet and watched some TV shows, I just had to decide which one, I then laid on my bed and picked _'The Secret Circle'_ again and watched the Pilot. I laughed at some of the things the character Faye would say at some point in the show, then someone was punching in there code, it was Natasha.

"Hey" I said pausing my show "Long time no see"

"Yeah, like-wise" Natasha gasped sitting next to me "So has Tony made the room for Amelia?" she asked, I nodded.

"Oh, yes, I helped decorate and we both organized, he got a sight of her bra's and I took over the clothing job then" I said smiling.

She nodded "Fury thinks that I should tell you about what her condition is" she whispered.

"Oh yeah" I said setting my tablet down "I've been wondering about that, what is her condition, it's nothing like Banner is it?" I asked, she shook her head.

"Oh no, hers isn't too serious" she said, her jade eyes examining the walls "She has wings"

"Wings?" I echoed.

"Yes there like Angel wings" Natasha described "There white and feathery, she was born with them, and she was once a part of The X-Men"

I nodded, soaking this up.

"And she decided that The Avengers would be more her speed" Natasha said, looking at me "So don't tell her that you know yet, keep this secret for awhile"

"Of course" I nodded, it was understandable.

I waited till she left the room when I hit play on my tablet to finish my show.

I later went into the entertainment room for breakfast; I wasn't too hungry so I decided to have one thing of sausage and water. I walked over and turned the TV hologram on and watched _'Saved by the Bell'_, hey it's a good show. Once I finished my sausage I walked over and dumped the plate in the sink, for somebody to clean, I then chugged my water and threw away the plastic bottle in the recycling bin.

I then told Jarvis to turn off the TV for me he obliged and turned it off, I then went to my room and got the dress that Natasha gave me and went to Natasha's room but first I knocked just in case.

"Natasha?" I called.

"Yeah" I heard through the door.

"Can I come in?" I asked.

"Sure" she answered, I then punched in my code and walked in, her room was dark gray with a TV in front of her queen sized bed. It was a very small room but it was still nice, I walked in and gave her, her dress.

"I thought you might want this back" I said, handing it to her, she got up from her bed and took it from my hands and placed it in her closet. Natasha then paused for a moment as if she was considering something, she turned to me.

"You know, Clint is coming back from his mission tomorrow" she began walking slowly towards me.

"Oh really?" I said, surprised, to be honest I had forgotten about his mission.

"Yeah, and I was wondering if you wanted to hang out in Amelia's room with the rest of the guys, maybe watch some TV, play some drinking games or something" she said her voice trailing off.

"Which guys?" I asked, my head titling a little as I looked into her jade eyes, she hesitated.

"All of them except Steve, he's doing some training for Fury right now, and he probably wouldn't want to get drunk either" she decided, looking at her walls for a second, I thought about her offer, well it seems like a fun idea to hang out, I guess, huge TV, friends and games I'm definitely in.

"Alright sounds cool" I said nodding and getting off of her bed, walking to the door.

"See you later" I waved to Natasha and left the room, leaving the agent alone.

Once I shut her door I walked past my room and Amelia's and walked into the lab, I punched my code in and was allowed access to the room. Bruce was working on some nerve things, while Tony was surfing the web with his tablet.

"Hey guys" I said walking in, my eyes flickering from on scientist to the next "What's up?" I asked, fiddling with my fingers.

"Nothing, much" I heard Tony mumble "Just looking for the element"

"Yeah, I heard you talking about that last night, what are you talking about? What element? The one in your chest piece?" I asked, walking over to him.

"No, just something to upgrade my suit" Tony said swiping his finger down the screen of his tablet.

"So…" I said, slightly tilting my body to one side "Are you and Bruce going to Amelia's room for drinks, and stuff?" I asked, casually, Tony looked up at me.

"Okay that fake casualty act you need to work on for one thing" he said, I dipped my head down and looked up again as he went on "And yeah, me and Bruce are coming, right Big guy?" he said, looking up at his friend.

Bruce was on the other side of the room, but had heard our conversation, he was nodding "Yes, but I don't think I'll participate in the drinks though" he murmured.

"I understand" I told him, nodding, I turned back to Tony "I wonder what games we'll play" I thought aloud.

"Most likely" Tony cut in, still deep in his studies "Beer pong, to begin with then later after were all shot, probably a good game of truth or dare" he said flashing a smile "Or at least that's what I hope, if not I'll make it happen"

I smirked and went over to my desk and went on the internet for awhile, there wasn't much on their surprisingly but I made the best of it and tried to have fun with it while I had the time.

The sky slowly turned to a pale orange as, the sun began to set over the tall luxurious buildings of Manhattan, as Ali was in her room, getting dressed for the get-together. I picked out one of the shirts that I thought was out of my comfort zone, I black top that was low-cut and tight, along with tight jeans, why did I pick that? Not sure but I felt like wearing it what's the point in getting a slutty shirt without wearing it? I let my dark brown almost black hair down and brushed it out so it was sleek and smooth, and left my room.

I tapped my code in on Amelia's door and I was allowed in, as I walked in I saw Natasha sitting on the floor in front of the TV with a glass of wine, and Amelia was getting a vodka. I slowly walked over to where the couch was and gladly took a seat these pants were killing me but yet I didn't mind wearing them either, so I can't complain but yet I can complain it's a win-win thing.

"Hey Ali" Amelia said walking up to me with a glass of wine in one hand in and a vodka in the other "What's with the tight pants?" she asked, handing me the wine, I shrugged.

"I just felt like dressing like this" I said blandly, I then glanced at Natasha "When's Clint coming?" I asked her.

"I don't know" she sighed "I've been texting him, he said he'll be here in a half an hour or less" she explained, looking down at her i-phone once more "err-scratch that he's already here" she said getting adjusted on the floor "Clint, Tony and Bruce are on their way here"

A few minutes later, the door opened as all three of them entered the room, I glanced over at them, they all looked nice, and I shook my head thinking that was kind-of weird that I just thought that.

"Hi guys" Amelia said, handing each one of them drinks except for Bruce, apparently she knew that he didn't want to get drunk, she just smiled at him and gave him a quick hug which startled Banner but he took it though with a small smile on his face. Amelia and the guys followed her over to where the TV was, as they all separated and took a seat. Bruce sat next to Amelia but was a few scoots away from her though but was still rather close to her, while Clint was sitting next to Natasha on the floor, and of course Tony wanted to sit next to me, he tried acting slick and put his arm around the back of the couch, without even a single warning I got my arm and grabbed his hand from behind me and placed it on his lap he just smiled at me and took a huge gulp of his scotch.

"Okay, what are we playing?" Tony said, as I took my first sip of wine, it was surprisingly horrible, but addicting at the same time, there _was_ a taste of grapes in there surprisingly, but it wasn't as good as I made it sound in my head in high school, I quickly jerked my head up and raised my hand and randomly stated.

"I call eternal dibs on truth or dare"

"Eternal dibs on-what the hell Ali" Tony muttered, I just smirked as he went on "But I agree with Ali"

I rolled my eyes.

"Truth or dare works for me anyway" he said, putting his arm around the back of the couch again, I did the same thing with his arm again and placed it back on its lap.

Amelia glanced around the room looking for facial responses but everyone seemed to be fine with the idea, so Amelia just nodded and smiled.

"Okay, great, but-who goes first?" she offered, taking a sip of vodka.

My eyes rolled around the room, I defiantly did not want to go first, it was kinda sudden and I can't think of things right off the bat, and knowing these guys they will probably do hard-core dares no question. I got Amelia's I-pod from the glass table in the center of the room and searched for a certain song to play, I used the internet to find it, then it was finally loaded and ready to play I hit play song and SBTRKT-Wildfire began to play.

Once the song started, Tony just took a huge gulp of his scotch and announced.

"Well-since nobody's brave enough to play _I'll_ start" he said, looking around the room looking for his first victim, then his brown eyes flickered in mischief as his eyes lay on Natasha.

I let out a sigh, _oh god…_

"Nat" he said, his eyes resting on the red haired spy "Truth or _dare_?" he asked.

Natasha just stared at him, her jade eyes look dull, but there was a flicker of excitement in them as she answered.

"Truth"

Tony let out a disappointed sigh, and then smiled "Alright, Nat have you and Clint ever '_do it_'?"

I stared at him, opened mouthed, I mean I knew a question like that was coming up but I thought it would've been asked, later in the game not right off the bat, I then took a gulp of wine as Natasha adjusted herself on the floor.

"Yes, we did actually, _mission wise_" Natasha ended her voice hard when Tony began to laugh "It was just for our cover, if we didn't 'do it' then our cover would be blown and so would we, to smithereens" she said, with an embarrassed glance at Clint.

Tony kept calling off truth and dares for awhile, then he came to me, I squirmed, _this won't be good _I thought staring at Tony while he was thinking up a question and a dare for me.

"Truth or dare?" he asked me, I took a sip of wine as I considered the question, everyone else had chosen truth, so I thought I should be the black sheep in this one.

"Dare" I squeak, cursing myself when my voice cracked.

He smirked as he took the last sip from his scotch and gasped in the middle of drinking.

"Take off your shirt"

I froze

"What?" I said my hand clenching on the wine glass.

"You heard me" he smirked taking the glass from Amelia's hands as she gave him his refill, and taking another gulp "Take it off"

I let out an agitated sigh, and glanced at Natasha she just shrugged and shook her head as if to say, I can't help you on this one. I set down my wine glass and just slipped my shirt off but kept it very close to my lap, I felt the blood rush to my face as I got glances from Clint and Tony, but I then began to laugh when Natasha punched him in the gut and called him an ass-hole.

I just tried to stay cool, but of course my face was a furnace, then Natasha gladly took her place in the game and asked Tony whether he wanted truth or dare. I was surprised when he answered truth, and so was Natasha she jerked her head back slightly.

"Okay, well" she sat in thought for a moment and then got comfortable when she asked "What happened the night when Ali started crying and you ran after her?" she asked, I stared at her, I took my shirt off now you want me to be humiliated? What the hell did I do to you guys?

Tony just glanced at me "Uh, we talked? And that was pretty much it" he said shrugging taking another gulp of scotch Natasha shook her head, obviously that was not what she was looking for.

"No, I mean when I came in and you guys' eyes were like cemented" she said with a sly smile.

Tony looked worried for only a second then said "You can only ask one question, okay next" he said his voice steadily getting quicker.

I then put my shirt back on.

The night grew darker as the moon went into the middle of the sky in Manhattan as the heroes began to question their secrets and deceptions.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I got up and got another glass of wine, but to my disappointment I fell right onto the floor as soon as I got up.

"Wee! That was fun!" I said slowly getting up, but then failing miserably as I fell back down again.

I let out a bellow of laughter as somebody helped me up, it was Natasha.

"I think you've had one too many" Natasha stated, her arm undermine "Come on, let's go"

"No, I'm fine, just set me down there" I ordered, pointing at the couch, Natasha let out a sigh and helped me over to the couch.

Once I sat down Amelia gave me coffee and some milk to wake me up a little from my drunken state. I crossed my legs on the couch, as everyone else settled down and went back to the game it was still Natasha's turn, her jade eyes turned hard as she stared at me.

"Truth or dare, Ali, you chose" She said, I flinched when I saw her smile, I swallowed.

"Uh…Truth, I guess" I muttered, taking a huge gulp of milk, Natasha smiled "Okay…"

I was still drinking when she asked "Have you and Tony kissed?" she asked.

I almost spit out my milk, I put a hand on my mouth, quickly swallowing my drink, but then it went down the wrong pipe as began to cough but before I could respond Tony was already defending me.

"_No_, Nat why do you keep asking that?" he asked her "We've never-"

Natasha glowered at him "I didn't ask _you_ I asked _her_" she said staring at coughing me.

"No" I said in between coughs "Never-_cough_!-I would never-_Ack_!-kiss this bastard!" I gasped, tears in my eyes from the power of the coughs.

Natasha just slightly shook her head and took a sip of wine, with a slight smile.

Once I could finally breathe, I let out a tiny gasp "O-kay, I think I've had enough Truth or dare for one night" I announced setting my cups on the table, I was still a little drunk but I was somewhat sober, so I could walk without falling into stuff.

Once I got to the door I turned to Amelia "Thanks, Amelia we should do this again" the last part of that was strained, and a lie, I wouldn't want to play truth or dare with a spy, never again. Once I turned around I opened the door and I walked out of the room, stumbling a few times but was getting used to it, once I finally made it to my room I punched in my code and immediately went to bed, I walked over to my bed and covered up and went into a deep sleep.

I woke up feeling, sick and tired, my crusted eyes opened to the dawn light, I squinted, and it felt like the light was painful to look at. I also felt hungry, but first I had to get up and get ready, it was painful just to get up, but after minutes of trying I finally did it, I went into the bathroom, took a shower, brushed my hair and teeth, washed my face and got dressed.

Once I was done with all that I heard someone coming in as I was playing music on my tablet, it was Natasha.

"Hey, how you feeling?" she asked sitting next to me, as I paused Katy Perry.

"Do I look okay to you?" I asked, staring at her, my eyes looked dull and my face looked pale from all of the wine I drank and I felt like I was about to barf all over Manhattan.

"Well…no but I just thought I'd ask" Natasha sighed, looking at the floor.

A question entered my head as I turned to her "Why did you ask me that question last night?" I asked, Natasha smiled as I went on "You know that's never happened" I lied, my eyes looking at her for an answer.

"I just wanted to see if you were telling the truth or not" she said getting up "And you weren't"

I froze.

"What?"

She turned to me "You were _lying_, Ali, you did kiss him" I glared at her, still covering up that evening.

"I didn't kiss him, and how would you know anyway?" I asked, slightly blowing my cover.

Her eyes went into dark jade slits as she stared at me "There was a video" she began "You know there are security camera's all over this place since Tony agreed to have the Avengers stay here, and when that happened, the video feed was replaced, but I somehow managed to get the real video feed and saw what actually happened"

I shut my eyes, she knew the whole time, so she had been lying as well, I sighed.

"Did Fury see it?" I asked, my voice strained, opening my eyes to look at the agent, Natasha gave me a dirty smile.

"Oh so you admit to it now" she muttered.

"Yes, because you had known the whole time" I said my voice slowly rising, I was getting pissed and when I get pissed, you better shut your ass.

Natasha sighed, slowly understanding that this was ridiculous to fight about "Yes, I had known the whole time the day you were upset and wouldn't tell me what was wrong I had known the whole time but I respected why you didn't want to tell me and I just left it, and no Fury hasn't seen it, I didn't want your reputation to be dead where it now stands you already have enough on your résumé to deal with now" she explained, staring at me, I let out a loud sigh.

"I have too much to deal with right now" I muttered, covering my face "Surely nothing worse will happen?" I asked looking up at Natasha, the agent just stared at me, and her jade eyes looked glassy as she answered.

"We'll see" she muttered, as she walked out of the room.

My head fell in-between my knees as I just let out loud sighs, what is happening to my reputation here in the Avengers? Just then my tablet ringed, I jumped slightly, this time it wasn't an IM it was a 'phone call' you can get voice calls as well on this thing. I grabbed it off of my nightstand and hit talk; I didn't even bother checking to see who the caller was.

"Hello?"

"I need you in S.H.I.E.L.D's interrogation room _now_" said a voice, there was a click and the call ended.

I froze.

It was Nick Fury, was this it? Was I getting banned from the Avengers? I guess it was fun while it lasted…

I got up and left my room, my vision was getting blurry from the tears I was holding back.

Once I made it to the elevator I was taking to the basement area of Stark towers, it was cold damp and dark, perfect place to be told that your fired at. I walked in I saw Fury, but I also saw two other figures, I squinted as I tried to make out who these two mystery figures were, Once I came closer I realized who it was, the two brainiac boys themselves, Bruce and Tony were both sitting in the room as well looking as if they were being punished by their father.

I tried to see their faces more clearly from the dark but the only light I had was from the tiny light bulb dangling from the wire.

"Please take a seat, Ms. Henderson" Fury said, his voice was quivering with anger for some reason, I flinched, this wasn't going to be good.

_I wonder what he wants_ I wondered then I froze just as I had gotten seated in my chair _The ghost drive, or the video feed, or both, he found them, no, no, no, no he couldn't have! He couldn't have!_

"I think you all know why I called you down here" Fury began, walking around the table we were sitting around.

Nobody answered as Fury paused for a moment; he then went on "I don't recall hearing about a certain Avenger having a _skull fracture_" he ended in a shout, which made me jump; my hands began to shake uncontrollably.

Bruce's hands tightened on the desk, he seemed calm, but I guess it was just the idea of our hero reputations at state that worried him the most. Fury's cape brushed my hand as he passed by me; I then stiffened at his next comment.

"And two supers getting too, friendly I might add" Fury whispered, his face was right beside Tony's, the billionaire stiffened, he glanced over at me, I quickly looked away and began to fiddle my fingers, I glanced over at Bruce who looked confused at Fury's last comment, but somewhat intrigued.

I felt the heat come to my face as he went on "Anyway, I understand that Stark has raging hormones, but still…" he trailed off, obviously that wasn't his main, concern, I relaxed "But, on the other hand you hiding something medically wrong with one of our avengers is off limits" he spat, angrily, I glanced at my two friends, Bruce seemed, uncomfortable while Tony seemed relaxed that the 'raging hormones' wasn't his concern, that it was just something to get our attention but it was still a little unnerving.

"Why did you hide this from us?" he asked, finally letting us speak, he glanced at Stark, who looked as if he was going to speak.

"We just didn't want S.H.I.E.L.D to get involved" he said, looking at Director Fury, who just leaned back and stared at him with his one eye.

"That's not a good enough reason, Stark" he hissed, my fist clenched slightly.

Tony gave him a quick glare and went on "Look we just didn't want your stupid ass-clown agents to get too involved in this, so we decided to keep it safe in one of my private servers which you unsuccessfully tried to hack into" he said smiling slightly at the end of his statement.

Fury glared at the ass-clown statement and kept on "But why did you keep it a secret from us?"

"Like I said you would get too involved" Tony repeated, looking up at him, Fury let out an angry sigh as he walked over into the darkness, once he was out of eyeshot Tony scooted his chair closer to me.

"How does he know about that evening?" he whispered quickly, his voice was strained and dripping in worry.

I shut my eyes and let out a sigh "Natasha said that she had found the video feed, and apparently she lied to me when she said that she hadn't shown it to Fury" I told him, his brown eyes were full of sorrow and anger.

"Great, now who can we trust?" he muttered, mostly to himself, as Fury came back.

"You can leave now" he said, his voice was harsh.

We all slowly stood up and left the room, I glanced back and noticed that he had a DVD I squinted as I tried to make it out.

It was the video from that evening.

I tightened my fists and beat them on my hips, _son of bitch…_

"What's wrong?" Tony muttered as we shut the door of the basement behind us, as Bruce was in front.

"Fury has the video feed on DVD" I snarled at him, Tony just shut his eyes for a second and sighed.

"Great" he mumbled "Now there's that to worry about"

I followed Tony and Bruce into the lab and walked over with Tony to his desk, he began to work on his armored gloves as I began to ask him questions.

"When did he find out about the fracture?" I asked him, as Tony let out an irritated sigh and a mutter of 'I knew this was coming.' He turned to me.

"Look, Ali, when I was going to tell you he disconnected all my communications from my tablet, and all that other stuff so I couldn't tell you, I tried, believe me I wanted you to know, I tried, but it didn't work out, his guards held me back and I just couldn't find a way to tell you" he said walking closer to me, his hands on my shoulders. I stared at him, he sounded upset, and he looked as if he had admitted defeat, I looked at him, feeling my eyes water slightly, but I didn't feel that sorry, even though it did stab my heart greatly.

I let out a sigh, as he looked at me I looked at him, and in the corner of my eye I saw Bruce staring at us, confused as if to say 'what is going on with you two?'

"I'm sorry I doubted you" I whispered "I won't do it again" I said looking into his eyes, wrapping my arms around his waist. Bruce stared at us; he looked uncomfortable with the scene taking place so he left the room and went into the scanning lab, to leave us alone.

"About time he left" Tony muttered, I smiled, looking at him, I guess…my friends were right, you never know what might happen later on in life, even though I insisted that '_this_' would never happen, nobody would ever find me interesting, and here I am.

I leaned in again, yes, again, don't judge me, and I slowly pressed my lips against his, making it short and sweet. I shut my eyes as my arms and my body relaxed. I've never felt so calm, so safe…I then broke away, but he didn't seem to like the idea of me quitting, but he wanted more than that, I know what he wants, but that's all I've got to give. My eyes slowly opened, Tony was just staring into my eyes, he seemed to be in as much of a daze as I was, I smiled.

"Thank you for defending me" I whispered "That was your thanks" I said a smile growing on my lips.

He just smiled as he let me go, as I walked away I looked back he went back to his work but he was still smiling as I left the room.

Once I was outside of the lab, I went into Amelia's room, I haven't seen her in awhile so I thought I should go see her and see how she was doing, I punched my code to her room and was allowed in. When I walked in I heard Natasha's voice, they were in her bedroom.

Once I went past her huge flat screen I slowly went inside her room, she was sitting on her bed with Natasha right beside her, they turned to find out that I had came in.

"Hey" Natasha said, smiling "We IM'd you, where were you?" she asked, her jade eyes scanning me like a lie detector.

"Uh…I was…busy" I stumbled, I didn't think that I would be questioned on where I had been, I don't think I could tell them that I was being interrogated even though Natasha probably already knew that, but she probably was wondering why I was back so late from the interrogation because she knew how long it was going to take.

"_Busy_?" Natasha asked, her eyes turning into slits, Amelia looked confused on the slight tension between us, and to be honest I was too, I didn't know why she was so tense.

"Yup, busy" I quickly stated wanting to leave that alone "So, what's been going on Amelia?" I asked her, giving Natasha a hard glance.

"Nothing really, me and Natasha were just discussing if we should have like, a sleepover type thing" she said "But Natasha said that sleepovers weren't her thing so, I IM'd you to see if you could come but then you didn't reply so then we began to talk about why you weren't here" she said, flipping her hair to one side.

"I think that's a good idea Amelia" I told her, Amelia beamed "I would love to, we could watch friends or some movies" I said, nodding.

"Okay that's settled then" she said, getting up off her bed "Well, sorry guys but I got to go to the lab, Bruce said he needed help with some problems" she said leading us to the door.

Then the three of us left her room, and Natasha gave me one sly glare as she left made a sharp turn left and went to her room, Amelia turned to me.

"I wonder what's gotten her so touchy" she muttered, I shrugged.

"Who knows? She very secretive" I admitted, leaving Amelia to Bruce as I entered the entertainment room.

I went over to the bar and got a tiny cup-full of wine, I've been through too much lately and since I had my first cup of wine, since I felt so care free last time I might as well drink my pain away…once I took a gulp of the first cup I began to think, as I got a cup of hot chocolate, I didn't want to get gassed like last time, I wanted to be drunk but not too drunk you know?

Once I had my coco I stared at the fireplace, the flames still burning on, _Why do I have to be the one in these situations now me, Bruce and Tony are on watch by S.H.I.E.L.D right now…_I thought angrily slamming my cup on the table so hard the cup slightly cracked, I panicked, _crap, I just broke something what's next? I blow up the tower?_

I just chugged the rest of it and threw the cup away, knowing that it was going to be history soon anyway. Like me, I mean why did I have to be the one to be hit in the head by a stupid god? Why I have to be the one to make out with a guy? Why did I have to be the one to be excluded? Why? Why? Why?

I left the entertainment room and stalked into the lab, Bruce and Amelia weren't there they were probably out somewhere, Tony was busy with his gloves, upgrading them with the element thing I guess, I leaned over still looking for Amelia and Bruce, they were nowhere to be found.

"Bruce and Amelia went outside for bit" Tony said, glancing up from his glove, I whirled around.

"Do you know where they went?" I asked, he nodded and pointed to the front door that I went up to go to the roof.

"Oh" I muttered, walking over and sitting in my chair and resting my head on my desk, then a few minutes later, my eyes closed then darkness took my vision once more as I fell asleep.

I felt somebody shake my shoulder gently I smiled slightly, as I opened my eyes to the dim lit lab, nobody was there, I turned to see who woke me up, it was Tony.

"Hong long have I been sleeping?" I asked with a yawn, he smirked and brought up the time on the huge glass window; 5:11 am.

"For the love of crap and everything stinky" I moaned hitting my head against the desk, Tony started laughing at me, I lifted my head up.

"Shut up" I muttered, slowly getting up, I opened my eyes trying to get my eyes used to the darkness and the dim light in the room.

"Well, goodnight I guess" I mumbled, trying to look for the door, I then saw the blue lit keypad I walked over to where I saw the light and opened the door. I went down into my room, and shut the door stripping off my clothes and putting on my PJ's and banging my head against my memory foam pillow as sleep took me again and my sight.

I opened my eyes to the sound of rain pounding against the glass, I flinched, it took me by surprise I blinked a couple of times before getting out of bed and getting ready for the day.

Once I was dressed, I got my tablet and watched some cartoons, yeah I'm twenty seven and watch cartoons I am a huge nerd alright? Go piss of someone else's ass. As I was watching my show, my tablet ringed and showed part of my message at the top of the screen before disappearing into the screen, I muttered some incoherent words on technology as I tapped my message icon blinking at the top.

'Hey guess who got a tablet?' it was Amelia.

'Amelia did!' I replied back with a smile, I've never met a girl as happy and fun loving as Amelia, that's one of the things I like about her.

'Your darn right Amelia did! Tony finally finished making it'

I smiled as I typed my next reply

'That's great, where were you yesterday? I looked for you in the lab but Tony said you and Bruce were outside somewhere…what happened there?' I asked her in my reply, minutes later she replied back.

'Oh, that? Well me and Bruce just went outside for some air, that's all yeah just some air…'

I smirked as I typed back 'yeah sure, 'air' I get it' Amelia didn't reply back, so I decided to go pay her a visit and she if she was okay even though I could've asked her on the tablet, it isn't the same. I opened the door and strutted passed the lab and then a few minutes later I was in front of Amelia's door, I punched in my code and the door beeped and I was allowed in.

She was in her small kitchen as she whirled around, her bangs getting in the way of her eyesight as she blew on it once as the hair flew up to see who had come in. Amelia looked particularly nice today, wearing a pale green shirt with some denim jeans, her fair hair was shining in the light of the kitchen, while her hazel eyes glimmered in happiness knowing that one of her friends had stopped by.

"Hey, Ali" Amelia said looking slightly surprised "You know you could've just talked to me on my tablet you know" she said setting down the coffee mug that was in her hands on the counter.

"Yeah, but, it's not the same as talking face-to-face" I told her, and its true people are getting less brave by admitting to things by typing because they can't see the person, and that's one thing that scares most people talking to someone in front of them not by phone or any other device.

"I guess" she sighed as she poured her coffee in her cup "Well, what's up?" she asked as the steam rolled out of the brown liquid.

"Nothing, just-what happened yesterday?" I asked, walking over to the couch in the center of the room.

I heard her mutter something under her breath "I told you we went out to get some air-that's all end of story" she said, sounding flustered, I took a double take when I noticed that a deep red blush was beginning to appear on her face.

"If it's nothing then why are you blushing?" I asked looking over at her, she looked worried as she picked up her cup and walked over.

Amelia walked over to me and sat down on the black leather couch and stared at her coffee, she seemed to be considering something, it then reminded me of when Natasha saw how upset I was after the night me and Tony kissed, then something clicked. _Did she do the same thing I did when Tony made the gloves for me? She _kissed _Bruce? Or did she-no she wouldn't do that-nor would he-what the hell happened here!?_

I looked at her, she was still thinking I decided to make this quick and somewhat humiliating "You kissed him didn't you?" I asked, Amelia quickly got on her feet.

"_No_!-well" she was already having second thoughts about telling me, her hand was on her cheek she obviously was confused, she turned her back to me "Okay so maybe we did-but…" she trailed off, I began to consider, _Should I tell her about what happened to me? Would Tony mind? Of course not, he's done worse…_

I shut my eyes for a second it was hard to admit to something as humiliating as this I swallowed "You're not alone in this Amelia" I muttered walking over to her, she turned on me.

"You kissed him too?" she asked her voice rising, I laughed.

"Of course not silly, you're in love with a genius I'm-"I stopped myself love is a strong word don't you think? For me anyway, Amelia, yes, me, hell no!

"_Falling for_ a genius" I said smoothly, Amelia raised an eyebrow, then she frowned at the ground, thinking for a moment, then her eyes widened.

"You kissed-"I slapped my hand over her mouth, okay maybe I shouldn't have told her.

"Okay, Amelia, I'm glad you figured it out, but I don't what all of Manhattan to hear it" I grumbled, moving my hand off her mouth, Amelia was smiling so big I was surprised her face didn't break.

I felt the blood rush to my face remembering that evening, but…I couldn't just walk away, no one could…

"Ali?" she asked, suddenly the smile was off her face she was staring at me very intently, I then realized that one tear was sliding down my face, I quickly wiped it away.

"I'm fine" I said, angered at how my voice rasped "So…what happened yesterday? What was it like?" I asked her, trying to forget mine as much as possible, it was an accident…nothing more.

Amelia shrugged and shifted her feet "It was nothing…it was short and sweet, and I'll leave it at that, but I'm guessing yours wasn't short and sweet?" she asked giving me a quick wink, the blood came back to my face.

"Uh…not-for very long…." I stumbled, glancing at the floor, Amelia smiled.

"Well I'm sure you had some fun playing tonsil tennis" she joked, I made a gagging noise.

"No!" right when I sad that Amelia stared at me disbelievingly "Okay, maybe a little but-"I was interrupted by Amelia's laugh.

I sat back down on the couch, just then Amelia's tablet ringed, Amelia walked over and tapped it a couple of times and a smile grew on her face, she turned to me.

"Well, I got to go to the lab, so…your gonna have to leave Ali" she said bluntly as she turned and left the room, with me trailing behind, then I quickly grabbed her shoulder.

"Amelia"

"Yeah?"

"Don't tell anyone about what I just told you" I told her my voice getting hard, Amelia looked at me confused.

"About what?" she asked, oh my god you forgot already?

"The '_thing_'" I said, adding an emphasis to 'thing' Amelia was in deep thought and then her eyes widened.

"Oh! Alright, sure" she then slowly walked out of the room with me trailing behind her.

Amelia, turned and went into the lab while, surprisingly I didn't go in the lab, though I looked through the glass quickly to see if Tony was in there, which he wasn't which also surprised me, knowing him I'm surprised he hasn't built another suit. I beat my fist on my bony hips and walked into the entertainment room and made a bee-line for the couch, my best friend. I ran over to it and fell into it with a plop, I then clapped my hands once and extended my hands ordering the screen to get larger, then a loud beep was made I almost pissed my pants when that happened then Jarvis's voice, calmed me.

"I'm sorry Ms. Ali but-the screen can only be so wide" Jarvis informed me, I sighed.

"Alright, then" I huffed, getting adjusted in the maroon couch, I quickly began to flip through channels with my finger, that's right my finger it's a touch screen-well actually it's not you use your fingers as a remote you just swipe your finger down in the air and your going down a list of channels. I then found some romance movies, yeah cheesy, but I'm lonely and bored, I get lonely easily trust me, I do.

As I was watching it, my eyes slowly began to get heavy, I yawned and rested my head on the arm of the couch, feeling tired and alone my eyes slowly shut, as sleep took me once more.

My eyes opened to a cold dark place; there were stars everywhere, creatures flying in the behemoth of rocks and other floating objects. I blinked a couple of times as my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I looked around and saw that there was blood on the stone platform I was on, I gasped and took a step back, but I felt somewhat intrigued and followed the blood, my stomach twinning every so often.

As I was walking I let out a loud scream that lasted for only a second, as I saw bodies lying on the cold hard ground. But that wasn't what scared me more what scared me was who the people were that were dead.

I slowly walked over, looking at all of the familiar faces, the first person I saw on the ground was Steve, his face was smeared with blood, his chest had a piece of some kind of metal inside, which was still gushing blood. My eyes began to fill up with tears, as I looked at the others I passed by, Natasha was beside Clint, Natasha looked like she had a pained expression on her face, I looked closer and saw a dark outline on her cheek she had been crying over Clint most likely. I then saw Bruce, I then let out a sob, and he was lying on the ground his skin was partially green, he still had pants on, oversized pants for that matter but anyway, his hair was hardened with blood, the next person I saw broke my heart greatly.

"_No_!" I screamed, I saw Amelia lying close by to Bruce her wings were covering Bruce's back, I ran over to Amelia stroking her feathered, beautiful white wings that were tinted with blood, I then fell into her fluffy wings and cried. _What's happening? Are they dying because of me? Was this somehow my doing? Is this what's going to happen in the next battle?_

I then lifted my head up from her blood splattered wings and let out a painful scream as I saw Tony laying there in his Iron Man suit, I ran over quickly listening for a heartbeat, nothing no breathing-_I was too late, but what could have I done? I don't make a difference…even though Tony said I did, I know I don't I don't make a difference in this world…I never will…_I then buried my head into his armored chest where his arc reactors light had died out.

"I failed you…" I whispered, I shut my eyes as tears ran down my face and splattered against his chest "I'm so sorry, I know you told me I would make a difference, but I guess I didn't or else you all wouldn't be dead" I cried, hugging him slightly, I then whispered.

"What happened?"

Then the world darkened around me as all I saw was the arc reactor in my eyesight, and then it was gone-engulfed in the overwhelming darkness.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

I was still, screaming and sobbing when I heard someone saying my name, I kept seeing flashes of Tony, Amelia, and Natasha, dead, unmoving, never breathing, all my fault…

"Ali!" a voice shouted, I then heard a loud slap and I felt a hand come across my face, I then opened my eyes and leapt up off the couch, shaking.

"What the hell is your problem?" I screamed, not even knowing who I was talking to, I then turned around and saw it was Tony he stood up from his current position and just stared at me.

"Are you okay?" he asked, ignoring my last comment "You were screaming and crying in your sleep" he informed me, I rubbed my cheek from where he slapped it, it was tender and raw, and it stings.

"I'm fine" I said angrily, marching off into my room, while Tony was following me, obviously that wasn't enough.

"You didn't sound fine to me when I walked in and you were screaming 'what have I done?' and crying out our names" he said, still following me as I passed the lab, I glanced in as I marched by and saw Bruce and Amelia laughing and talking. I then made it in front of my door and tapped in my code and walked inside, quickly shutting the door hoping that it would close in time before he could interrogate me, but to my dismay he caught the door and rushed in.

"Are you going to answer my question?" he asked, he sounded mad, I flinched, I didn't want _him_ to be mad I sighed.

"I had a dream" I began, he slowly began to walk toward me as I was talking "And…I was in some strange place, and…there was blood…" my voice cracked, I shut my eyes. The pain I felt in that dream, the people in that dream, it felt so real too real for a dream "…You were dead, all of you were dead…so many bodies, so much blood…" I shut my eyes and sat in my moon chair that was close by to me, I buried my face into my hands.

After a minutes silence Tony whispered "Hey, it was just a dream, nothing to worry about" he told me putting a hand on my shoulder, I then stood up and walked over to the front of my bed.

"I know" I sighed, dully looking at him "But, I thought that I lost you-I thought that I lost all of you" I gasped, feeling my eyes water.

I heard Tony let out a huff, he was obviously irritated by the reason I was upset but for some reason he still tried to comfort me "How about, we change the subject?" he suggested, I slowly nodded, sitting down on my floral bed sheets while Tony did the same.

"Uh-did you enjoy truth or dare?" he asked, I looked at him, of all questions.

"No, of course not-I was asked personal questions-admit it you didn't enjoy it either" I told him, he shrugged and did a slight nod.

"Well-yeah, but now basically everybody knows that were-you know 'attracted' to each other" he said rolling his eyes in the middle of his sentence.

"Attracted is a strong word" I said, glancing at him, he smirked "How about…" I began to grope for a word.

"Mentally obsessed?" he offered.

"Okay that's a bit too far" I muttered, he chuckled.

"Well admit it your crazy about me" he said turning to me, I smiled "Uh, how bout, no" I said, he gave me a look.

"Oh really? I think the video feed says different" Tony countered giving me a wink; I smiled the blood rushing to my face.

"Well…let's just say that was an accident" I said, avoiding his eyes, but his eyes were fully trained on me.

"Oh yeah?" he said "Look me in the eyes and say you didn't kiss me first" he dared, smiling, I looked up at him I opened my mouth but I realized it would be a fail, I quickly looked back down shutting my mouth, he laughed.

"See? You kissed me first, you're crazy over me, admit it" he said, as I averted my eyes from his.

"No" I said bluntly.

"Say it" he repeated.

"No" I echoed.

"_Say it_" he said sternly like I was a little kid trying to tell her father the truth.

"Nah" I said waving him away, smiling, I then lifted my head up and looked into his eyes, I was surprised on how close he was, we were so close our lips were barley grazing, again. I held my breath, this can't happen again, last time it was just a thank you, and were in _my room_, on a _bed_. Come on the odds here are not in my favor, I already have a feeling what might happen here, I bet here in a second he's gonna tell Jarvis to lock the door.

"I'm giving you one more chance to say it" he muttered, smiling a little, I swallowed I knew what was going to happen.

"No" I whispered, smiling, I felt sick at my stomach knowing exactly what was going to happen, I shut my eyes as I felt him press his lips against mine. I felt surprised by the pressure of the kiss; I then felt my body fall backward onto my bed, my stomach lurched as his tongue tried to slip into my mouth, I kept my mouth tightly closed, I didn't ask for this so his not getting what he's wanting. Tony drew back giving me an irritable look, I gave him a pouty look.

"Hey I didn't ask for this you're not slipping your tongue into my damn mouth" I told him, biting my lip.

"We'll see about that" he mumbled, I swallowed-great his not giving up on this.

I slowly got back to a sitting position as he was examining me briefly then he scooted closer, I felt the blood rush to my face, I hate it when people look at me so intently. I froze when he leaned in not to kiss me-no-to kiss my _neck_, I then leaned backward.

"Uh-are you sure you wanna do that?" I asked, feeling uncomfortable.

He just ignored me and began to kiss my neck, I shuddered, _this is seriously weird…but-wait why is he doing that?_ It then hit me; I began to ask him questions.

"Why are y-y-you doing this?" I asked stuttering when he hit my sweet spot.

I felt him smile when I began to stutter; he broke away slightly for a second and answered.

"If you don't like it then admit that you love me" he said, I heard him laugh slightly as he went back to my neck.

"N-never" I stuttered, I shut my eyes slowly, it felt-good but it was…wrong, right? But I let him, I mean-I don't love him right? Right. He kept kissing my neck, it felt so good…it was like-a massage or something, I let out quiet moans for awhile till he began to bite, and lick slightly, I let out a quiet moan, I felt him smile a little as he bit a bit harder, I let out a louder moan this time, I was so tempted to cover my mouth, it was so loud I'm surprised all of Manhattan didn't hear it. He kept doing that for a few seconds and went back to my lips; he broke away for a second and asked.

"Now will you let me?" he asked, I was torn, sort-of, but for some reason instead of saying 'no' as I had been for the longest time I just nodded. And of course that's all he had to hear before he pressed his lips against mine once more. But before he did that he broke away for a second his eyes not leaving mine.

"Jarvis?"

"Yes Sir" he replied, I fought back rolling my eyes, I knew what was coming, and I didn't want it…but…again I wasn't sure how to walk away from this.

"Lock the door" Tony ordered before getting back to my lips.

I heard a click from the door as it locked, so no one could come in, but I knew someone would find out, Natasha or Fury…or Clint the Spy Club.

I just let him do whatever I honestly didn't understand the point of…you know…'_this_' were like disgusting animals that mate like-twenty four seven, it's sick really…I think that's what's on everyone's mind once they hit sixth grade, yeah sixth grade, that's all I heard about in sixth grade, it was seriously the worst year of my life, not knowing what they were talking about and then get teased for it.

While he was furiously kissing me he pushed me to the floor of my bed again, I flinched when I felt his hands under my shirt, I froze. Oh god really? You're that desperate? I rolled my shut eyes as he began to feel my curves, I just put my arms around his neck, I remember reading stuff about this...I read too much yes but anyway, I remember reading, stuff like this and it's so awkward and embarrassing to read. His hands began to unbutton my shirt, once he was down to the last button I quickly buttoned them back up, I smiled in the middle of our kissing, this will be interesting for him.

He tried undoing where my bra was supposed to be without my shirt when he realized that my shirt was buttoned back on, he broke away.

"What the hell?" he gasped, looking at my red button shirt, I smiled.

"You're not getting it" I told him, he gave me a smirk.

"That's what you think" he said, going back to my mouth, he then quickly unbuttoned them I tried to button them back on but he smacked my hands away as I did so and threw my shirt off onto the floor, I felt the heat hit my face instantly, he broke away for a second though he was still close to me.

"You were saying?" he countered, I blushed even more, he got me, easily, I couldn't think of anything to say but.

"You're not finished yet" I whispered seductively in his ear, I felt him shudder as he went back to my neck, I rolled my eyes as he did so, I let out such load moans that, I only prayed that no one heard us but I'm sure as hell someone had to of heard. I then furiously tugged as his shirt; I guess he got me-this time around. He got the message and as he went back to my lips he unbuttoned his shirt some while I finished the rest of the buttons, I then threw his shirt hoping that it would fall on top of mine, I got to be somewhat occupied on something else, this is just too weird to experience. To my dismay it didn't it just made a dinky fall to my nightstand, I rolled my eyes again and went back to kissing Tony, once he was done helping me with his shirt he began to work on my bra, for some reason I let out a nervous laugh as he worked on it.

As he was doing that I worked on his belt buckle, good god I'm gonna regret this later I'm sure, I finally got it out of the hook I then slipped it out of the loops of his black pants and threw it away onto the floor somewhere. He got one hook of my bra and went to other, I blushed slightly as I went to his pants but I couldn't do it I was too embarrassed to even try, but I then got the nerve to do it as I unbuttoned his pants and unzipped them, which was awkward but I finally got them off and threw them into our pile of clothes, a few seconds after that he did the same to my pants and threw them into our pile, then later my bra joined the pile.

The rest of the evening was filled with, anger, confusion, love and some sex in-between.

I opened my eyes to morning light the sun bathed my windows in an eerie pale gold glow as I began to shift around in my bed. I looked at the floor for a second and shut my eyes then did a double take my shirt and all my other stuff was on the floor, I then looked over at the other set of clothes then it hit me, _last night oh god…_

I then rose up from my bed sheets and looked around nervously and shouted "_Oh god_!" I put a hand on my head, as my messed up hair fell in front of me, I looked beside my bed, Tony wasn't there-of course not he probably got what he wanted from me. I quickly got up and grabbed my bra, underwear and pants and quickly put them on, I then got a shirt from my closet and threw it on the bed and grabbed the clothes that Tony stripped off of me last night and put them in my laundry basket.

_I'm defiantly washing those bed sheets today_ I thought looking at my flannel bed sheets, I angrily marched over to my desk and grabbed my hair brush and brushed through my hair angrily, getting rid of the huge mats of tangles that I hit along the way. Once I was done with my matted hair I brushed my teeth and all of the other usual stuff and grabbed my mini laundry basket, filled it with my clothes and my bed sheets and left the bedroom.

I shut my door behind me and walked down the dark gray hallway, I then took a right turn after I passed the lab and went into the laundry room and threw in my clothes and bed sheets and let them wash for awhile. Once I did that I walked into the lab and went to my desk, I saw Bruce reading a book of some kind I searched the room for a few seconds and noticed that Tony wasn't here, _where the hell is he_?

"Tony isn't here, I mean he was but he left a few hours ago" Bruce mumbled as he went back to his book. I sighed, I have _got_ to talk to him we have got to straighten this thing out, no more kissing, no more frenching, and especially no more sex. I sat down and gladly took a Sprite out of my refrigerator and chugged it for a few seconds and let out a loud gasp and went to my computer, I began to take some pointless quizzes online until I heard the door open, I looked up and saw Amelia walking in.

"Hi Ali" she greeted with a wave, I waved back and went to my quiz, though I quickly glanced up and saw Amelia give Bruce a kiss on the cheek, I smiled slyly.

_Yeah you don't like him at all…_

Amelia and Bruce were talking in hushed tones for awhile till Amelia's head popped up from Bruce's book.

"Hey Ali, where were you yesterday?"

I froze.

"Huh?"

"Where were you? I tried looking for you last night and you weren't in the lab or anywhere and when I went to your room it was locked"

I swallowed, _shit I didn't think about that…_I looked around for some reasonable explanation, I just used my excuse for almost everything.

"I was busy" I answered bluntly, going back to my computer.

"_Busy_?" Amelia said disbelievingly "Doing _what_?" she countered walking over.

_A person…_I thought instantly, I shook my head slightly "Studies" I bit my lip, _yeah that's believable_.

"_Studies_?"

"Yeah studies" I said quickly wanting this conversation to be over, Amelia just raised her hands into the air as if to say 'hopeless.'

I quickly got up and left the room leaving the two love birds to their chirping, I decided to look for Tony, to straighten this out but once I hit the entertainment room I was stopped by Natasha; she was in her uniform her eyes were tired and serious.

"Fury needs all of the Avengers down on the 4th floor come on!" she shouted grabbing my hand.

Once me and Natasha walked in I saw Clint over in a dark corner to himself his hazel eyes flickering up to see who came in, Steve was already here he was just sitting in one of the chairs in the room close to Clint, while Tony was over in a dark corner as well his eyes were brimmed in confusion.

"What's going on?" I asked Natasha; the spy just glanced at me but no more she looked around the room.

"Where's Amelia and Bruce?" she asked, her voice sounding strained as she searched the room with her jade eyes.

"There in the lab, last I saw them" I informed her; she gave me a tense nod and ran out of the room leaving me with the rest of the guys.

"What's going on?" I repeated I looked at each guy for an answer; Steve just shrugged while Tony just shook his head, Clint however was expressionless he obviously knew what was wrong he probably just wasn't authorized to tell us.

I let out an agitated sigh and walked over to the wall and leaned against it, what in the world is going on now? Did they find the video feed from my room or something?

Minutes had passed and Natasha came in with Bruce and Amelia sprinting in the room, Natasha then checked again to see if everyone was here Natasha then spoke.

"We have a problem" she began.

"No shit Sherlock" I heard Tony mumble from the other side of the room, Natasha whipped her head around and gave him a death glare before going on.

"Loki has broken out of Asgardian prison" she blurted; there were some nervous shuffles of feet but no more.

"And he has taken the tesseract again" she went on, letting out a loud swallow "And he might come back-but we don't know where, so Fury, Clint and I have come up with a plan" her jade eyes flickered up from the floor and scanned the room for a second before going on "You all will go undercover and search for where the portal will open at and we'll meet there and take them down, you will go back to your homes-but you will keep a look out for the opening of the portal" she finished, I glanced over at all of the avengers they seemed up for it.

Natasha then stepped back indicating that she was done speaking, the agent looked around and mumbled.

"You can go now"

We all glanced around nervously and left the room; I tried to get to Tony while we were walking to the elevator.

"Tony!" I hissed he whirled around; I made a furious hand motion telling him to come here.

"What?" he scowled walking over to me.

I thought for a moment, we have bigger issues here than my personal life "Can I come with you?" I asked suddenly.

He smiled "Wanna spend another night with me huh?" he teased, I rolled my eyes.

"No and we will never do that again" I stated blandly, as we kept walking "I mean can I come with you to Malibu and be your 'assistant'?" I offered. Tony considered this for a few moments and shrugged.

"Sure"

"_Thank you_" I gasped, I was hoping he would say yes, I mean I doubt Loki would strike at a small town, that and…it'll be nice to see where he lives.

As we went up the elevator we split up and got our uniforms and packed some other personal items and stored them in a suitcase. I was trudging along with an oversized briefcase in my right hand as I left my room, I was so busy carrying it I paid no attention to what was going on around me, once I made it in front of Tony's room to wait for him I almost ran into the wall. I cursed a few times before getting adjusted, a few seconds later he came out with his Iron Man briefcase, I looked up at him.

"That's all your bringing?" I asked, as we began to walk forward.

"Uh, yeah we are going to _my_ place after all"

"Oh, yeah" I let out a nervous laugh as we went to the elevator, all of the other Avengers had packed up and left it was just us two. We finally made it to the elevator door, _now might be a good time to talk about this _I realized as Tony pressed the down button on the wall to bring up the elevator.

"Tony" I began setting down my luggage "Listen-about last night…" I shuffled uncomfortably.

"Forget it" he said with a shrug.

"Uh, kind hard not to dumb-ass" I hissed, flipping my wavy hair from my face "We had _sex_ you bastard you can't really forget that" I said, glaring at him, the elevator beeped and the doors slowly opened as we both went inside the double doors, I then punched the 1st floor button as the elevator jerked a bit then whipped us down thirty floors.

I was staring at him waiting for an answer, nothing.

"Yeah?" I scowled, he glared at me.

"Look, I-"

"Yeah I know you do this _all the time_ but I didn't ask for this" I spat interrupting him, Tony's brown eyes looked dull and angered.

"Yes, but…it was the heat of the moment" he muttered, glancing up at the glass doors as they opened allowing us to walk out and head to the car.

"_Heat of the moment_?" I echoed "What heat? We were talking _nothing_ was going on you threw me into it!" I scowled.

He didn't say anything he just put his suitcase with mine in the back of his Italian car as we drove off to Malibu, California.

Hours had passed as he finally went to a stop at his house; I stared in awe as I looked at the crescent roofed house settled on top of a small mountain that overlooks the ocean. Me and Tony got out of the car and got our luggage and walked inside, the house looks bigger than the outside, it was mostly white, white floors, walls and ceilings but there were some interesting centerpieces and some high tech gadgets lying around.

"Ali, over here" I heard Tony calling my name as I turned, he was in the hallway, I quickly walked over to him and went down the narrow hall.

"What?" I gasped as we both stopped in front of a door.

"This is the guest room, make yourself comfortable" he said kindly as he opened the door, the room was cream and again-white but with a chandelier in the center along with a bathroom to the far left of the windows which showed the night sky and then dark ocean crashing against the rocks. I threw my suitcase on the bed and looked at everything in the room till I noticed Tony was staring at me.

"What?" I asked turning to him.

"Nothing" he mumbled, glancing at the floor "if you need me I'll be in my 'office'" the way he said 'office' made me think for a while.

"How will I know where that is?" I asked him, crossing my arms.

"Ask Jarvis" he answered with a shrug and left the room.

I sighed and sat on my bed and unpacked my things, my uniform was the first thing to be taken out, it was red, with tints of orange and yellow, skin tight, low cut with a diamond cut inches away from the crease of where the cleavage would be. Very show-and-tell yes but Fury said that it had to be that way in case if I had to seduce someone, yeah like anyone's gonna fall for this piece of shit. I chose the colors because my code name is 'Phoenix' so I thought why not embrace the name? It fits. So I chose something bright and flashy it represents my attitude a little bit as well fiery and short-tempered. I unpacked and sorted the rest of my items before leaving the room.

I searched the room for the 'office' but couldn't find it, till I saw the staircase, I went down the long flight of stairs and saw through the glass doors Tony working on his suit, yet again. I was about to open the door only to realize that it was locked-I needed to type in my code, I punched in my code from Stark Towers and was allowed in.

The downstairs, uh I guess I could call it the basement of the house was full of expensive, antique cars along with his Iron Man suits off to the right, in their glass containers, while there was computers surrounding the-as they say the 'great Tony Stark' and he looked in the zone at the moment so I left him to his 'work' and looked at everything, it was very…overwhelming, all of this how big his house was-just everything, I think I feel a bit intimidated by his home and what he can afford it's like it's a slap in the face.

"You know" I heard Tony say from the center of the room "If you're going to be my assistant, you might want to wear something, short and tight" he said with a wink, I rolled my eyes but I smiled. He was such an ass.

"Will, do" I muttered, he seemed fully pleased.

"You also have to do everything I ask you to do" he added, I questioned that rule.

"Okay, if that 'everything' has something to do with sex I'm out" I say making a hand motion pointing at the door indicating that I will leave.

"I reject that offer and you are staying cuz you have no way home without being mobbed by paparazzi" he said with a smile, I sighed, he was right… I guess I got to deal with this bastard for awhile; I did ask for it so…might as well live it. Bad idea I know but…I can shut him up when needed.

"You might need this" he said, getting something out of the drawer as I walked over, it was an earpiece, he gently dropped it in my hand "In case if anybody calls they will have to talk to you first, so-yeah welcome to Stark Expo Ms. Henderson"

I put the earpiece on "Yeah, I didn't need the speech and thanks" I state as I walk off, but I rolled my eyes as I hear him call.

"Miss, excuse me" he smirked not cracking a smile, waving me over.

I walked over and gently slammed my hands against his desk keeping eye level with him "What?"

"I need something"

"No shit" I hissed.

"That wasn't very nice" he jeered, I fought back rolling my eyes again "Anyway-can you get me coffee?" he asked, sounding like a little kid, making a horrible pouting face making an awkward finger motion on the table.

"Can't you get it yourself Stark?" I counter, I'm gonna be hells assistant for Tony, I couldn't help but smile at the thought.

"Well-yes, but I'd like to see how you do it"

I bit back a retort, it would've made both of us uncomfortable if I had said it, I rolled my eyes and walked away, feeling his eyes on me I turned around again.

"What are you doing?" I asked sharply, he just smiled and shook his head.

"_What_?" I shriek like a little girl, I paused "Oh god-you weren't" I walked over and slapped his shoulder.

"You are a perv" I state walking off, I heard him laugh when I shut the door and carefully walked up the steps.

Being Tony's assistant was hell it was funny sometimes but also pretty uncomfortable, till one day I thought I was the wallflower again.

I was in my new 'uniform' for Stark Expo it was just as Tony suggested 'short and tight' it was horrible but I got used to it, it was a black skin tight dress-no more. As I was getting myself breakfast-well I wouldn't call it breakfast but it was all I could get, a friggin' apple, my earpiece was ringing I waited till I had chewed up the apple till I pressed the earpiece allowing me to answer the call.

"Hello, this is home of Tony Stark-Alisha-Tony's assistant speaking" I say in one breath, I used my fake name Alisha for security reasons, and Tony grudgingly agreed to the fake name.

"Hello" said a warm female voice "Um-I'm Pepper Potts I'm here for a visit"

I paused for a second, _Oh yeah Pepper Potts was once CEO and Assistant of Stark Industries, I remember now!_

"Oh, hang on one moment please Ms. Potts" I say angelically, as I punch a few keypad buttons on the glass table allowing me to call Tony to give him the message.

"Yeah-huh" I hear Tony say through the earpiece, I hear wind he was flying around in his suit the dumb-ass.

"Tony, a Ms. Pepper Potts is here to see you she says she is visiting" I inform him, looking up at the ceiling as I was reciting what I remember.

It was quiet for a second, for a second I thought he died to be honest.

"Hello?" I say.

"Pepper-Pepper Potts is here?" he asked, sounding confused.

"No I mean Miss. Salt" I say sarcastically "Of course I mean Pepper, dumb-ass" I bark at him.

I could just see him roll his eyes at me "Alright tell her I'm coming" I hear him mumble.

"Okay"

I then hang up on him and get back to Pepper.

"You still there Ms. Potts?" I asked.

"Yes" I hear her say, sounding hopeful.

"Mr. Stark has received and accepted you're…presence" I say shaking my head coming up with the ending of the sentence.

I hear her laugh at how I ended the sentence "Okay, I'll be here soon, Alisha was it?"

"Yup"

"Alright, goodbye Alisha" she said kindly then there was a click and she was gone.

I sighed; _this is gonna be a hell of night…_


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Once Pepper had come to visit Tony, I understood why they were a couple but I tried to stay out of the way, out of sight out-of mind…I wish. I was in the living room-or I think that's what it was, theirs like one million TV's in the friggin house, as I was sitting down using the tablet to organize Tony's schedule I heard some laughing downstairs I shut my eyes for a second and let out a loud sigh and shook my head for a bit and went back to work. I'm not jealous…they're just talking-right? That's all that's gonna happen…right?

I shook my head trying to erase the thoughts entering my head and went back to his schedule I tried to make it brief since we had to look for the opening of the tesseract portal. I wonder how the others are doing…I wonder if Amelia decided to go to Cal Ceuta with Bruce, that would be a sight. I smiled at the thought and saved the schedule and decided to go into my room and be blocked out from the noises downstairs. But of course that didn't help, no, because later I just remembered that my room was next to his, so later they went into his room-to talk I hope. I honestly don't wanna hear the sounds of _that_ through my walls, I then turned on the TV and watched Pokémon Diamond and Pearl on Boomerang. Once I was comfortable on my bed I heard laughing I rolled my eyes and muttered.

"Can you be any louder? I have the volume at 80%" I growled.

"Would you like me to inform Mr. Stark about his loudness?" Jarvis offered, I laughed.

"No thanks I don't want to lose my '_position_' here Jarvis but thanks for the thought"

"An excellent thought Ms. Henderson" Jarvis commented before leaving me alone.

I shook my head and went back to my show; I kept watching Piplup screw up her stupid bubble beam, while Dawn was crying over how she can't become a stupid coordinator. I rolled my eyes and shouted at the TV.

"Become a friggin trainer their tougher than dumb frilly coordinators!" I roll my eyes at the show; they honestly ruined it after Master Quest. It was then I heard a knocking at my door, before getting up I made my usual comment of 'shoot me' before opening the door, it was Tony.

"What?" I demand he just gives me a fake-stern look.

"Can you keep it down, me and Pepper are talking"

"Can _I _keep it down!?" I say, open mouthed "You're the ones being loud"

"Yeah-but it's _my_ house" he countered, that made me boil, it reminded me of what my mother would say, so with that I answered him by slamming the door in his face. I turned off the TV and just slammed my face against my pillow repeatedly reminding myself on how worthless I am in this world.

Hours later she had left, I was surprised that they didn't get involved in amorous activities-but they didn't I was stunned, he does it on a daily bases. Once she was gone I finally came out of hiding and went into the entertainment room along with the fountain-yeah you heard me right theirs a friggin fountain in his house! As I sat down I began to watch some movies, some Disney movies but most of them were sad-depressing stories. Yeah once you meet me I can make you so depressed sometimes it's like a disease sometimes it can be annoying but I don't mean it to I just get upset easily just like I get angry easily, it works.

The one thing that really confused me about today was after she had left, Tony hasn't said anything to me at all, I began to debate on whether I should see him or not. I sighed and got up, might as well ask him how his reunion with Pepper went.

Once I made it downstairs I saw he was testing out his gloves, I then looked down at my silver rings that he made me and smiled, I punched in my code and opened the door.

"How was the date?" I asked him; walking over.

Before he answered he was mumbling about how his stupid tech never works I honestly disagree.

"It wasn't a date Sketches were not a couple anymore" Tony, informed me I jerked my head back slightly.

"Really? When did this happen?" I asked, grabbing his spinney chair to sit in.

He glanced at me and went back to his glove "A few months after the Manhattan crisis" he answered bluntly, I stared at him waiting for more but obviously he didn't want to talk about it. An idea popped into mind, _Now would be a good time to see if my spy seducing actually works…_I considered this for a moment, it's not like I have anything to lose-well technically yes but, that's not important. I mean I've never used it before, and in case if I have to do that later on he can be my first subject. I smiled at the thought, and I slowly walked up to him, I tried to make the blush on my face go down as I was about to seduce but I then brought my arms back, _no…now wouldn't be a good time…maybe some other time._

"I'm sorry" I muttered, glancing at the ground.

Tony just gave me a thoughtful smile and went back to his glove; I shuffled my feet for awhile and glanced up at him in thought.

"Shouldn't you be looking for the Tesseract, Mr. Stark?" I asked him, slightly smiling at me calling him 'Mr. Stark' instead of Tony, but he didn't seem to mind, surprisingly.

He turned around to look at me and pointed at one of his several computers "See that computer?"

"Yup"

"It's looking for the signature of the tesseract, so whenever the computer finds anything close to the tesseract's power then it will alert me within a minutes' notice" He said, turning back around to his glove, he then took it off and went over to his computers as I followed him like a puppy.

After awhile I just stood there, not knowing what to do then I looked at his Iron Man suits and glanced over at him, he was in his own world his eyes were flickering over at every window that maximized onto his computer screen.

"Hey, Tony?" I began slowly walking over to him so I was standing rather close to him.

"Yeah"

"Do you think you could paint my gloves-and the boots?" I asked; he looked up at me from his computer.

"Uh-yeah okay what color?" he asked, I smiled.

"Red"

"Red?"

"Yup" I said bluntly "Red-I like red" I say quickly, moving my wavy brown hair away from my eyes.

"Are you sure it isn't because I like it?" Tony questioned, I shrugged.

"It might" I say I couldn't hold back my small smile "That and my code name is Phoenix so…it fits"

"Alright" he said snapping his fingers and making a waving motion with his hands "Give em' here"

I gingerly take off the rings from my fingers and then hand him the rings for my boots from my pocket and place them in his hands. He observes them for a second before asking.

"Do you also want me to add some weapon updates?" he asks, I nodded.

"Hell yeah" I say giving him a look of confusion, he smiled.

"Alright then" Tony muttered, then I flinched when I saw a mischievous smile appear on his face "If I do this for you, you have to do something for me"

I knew what he meant instantly but in case if I was wrong I asked him "What are you talking about?" I asked carefully.

He gives me a look and just smirks and turns his chair around and goes back to the painting sequence on the computer, telling Jarvis to paint it hot rod red. I stood there for a second, I was right-he wanted another night of…_that_ I was walking away till I heard him call my name.

"What?" I ask, haughtily.

"You owe me Ms. Henderson" he stated, I rolled my eyes as I turned to him.

"The hell I don't" I spat, his eyes were fully trained on me though they tended to linger, sometimes.

"Yes you do, were doing it right now" he ordered getting up from his chair to walk to me.

"Hell no" I smirk, were not 'doing it' here, its…wrong, and-weird.

"Don't you remember how wrong it was the first time?" I asked, as he was coming closer, I took a few steps back.

"It wasn't wrong" he stated mildly, getting closer, he was in front of me now, he started lean in, I gave him a shove.

"No" I say simply shoving him over the Iron Man suits, even though he'll win me over, I want to get it into his head that I don't like it.

"Why do you want to do this?" I ask him as he came back to me I didn't bother pushing him-he wasn't making a move yet.

He shrugged "You haven't said that you love me yet-which you do, and till you do this is gonna be a regular thing"

I shuffled uncomfortably, do I love him? Or was it…just a close friendship-no…I don't think so-and this just isn't the right time to think about this stuff right now.

"Even if I say I love you, your gonna want to have sex with me every day!" I counter, clenching my fist.

"True, but- I just want you to say it" he said with a coy grin plastered on his face, I glared at him.

"Were not starting this again Tony" I say as I walk over to the door, and carefully walk up the steps, I hear the glass door open behind me.

"Ali?"

"Yeah?"

"You still owe me" he reminded.

"Yeah, yeah-put a sock in it" I say as I make it to the top of the steps and walk over to where my room was to sit down and think this through.

I thought about this for hours trying to consider the fact that I may be in love with this bastard, but it was hard to grasp onto, I mean being in love with a playboy…yeah that happens all the time. I then rolled around on my bed for awhile considering this. _Do I love him? It is a good question though…I don't think I do-as a friend maybe but-more? I can't see that-I-just-I just can't…But then again whenever friends would say I was flirting with a guy-which I wasn't, I would always-_always_ deny it then wonder if I was later…which I knew that if I asked the guy if he liked me I would be in for a world of hurt…but-I don't know this all seems to be happening at a very quick pace don't you think? _

I was interrupted from my thoughts when I heard a knock on my door, it was obviously Tony there's no one else in this house besides us which I'm sure he's very proud of. I sprinted over to the door and opened it, he didn't look as frisky as he did a few hours ago, which made me feel relived entirely but he had something behind his back which he wouldn't show me I tried to grab whatever was behind his back but he refused, I gave him a irritated look.

"What is it?" I gasped, tired of trying to get it.

He took out of hiding and showed me a DVD; it was '_Sherlock Holmes' _I smiled.

"_You_ want to watch a movie?" I said, surprised.

"Yeah-what you didn't think Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropists did that?" he questioned, I shook my head.

"Well you're mistaken" he said, with a goofy look on his face as he looked at the back of the DVD package.

"I've never seen that movie" I say to him as I shut my door and walk with him.

"No?"

"Nope, just the second one"

"You can't watch them out of order that's-against movie law"

"Too late just did" I say with a proud grin.

"Then I'm sorry miss but I'll have to take you into custody" he says pretending to handcuff me.

"Not on my watch" I say as I grab the movie and run into the TV room, with him hot on my trail.

"Hey!" I hear him call as I pop the DVD into the DVD player and jump onto the couch while he runs in shortly after, panting.

"Good god you have too many outbursts" he pants, walking over to the couch, I was taking up the entire couch I gave him no room, but that didn't stop him he just sat on my legs.

"Hey!" I shout, hitting him with a pillow, he laughs.

"I'm sorry but that's what you get for running away from a movie officer" he teases.

"Here" I say moving my legs, to where he can have some room to sit down without cutting off the circulation in my legs and thighs.

"Thanks" he gasps; I then look around for a minute and then let out a sigh.

"What?"

"No popcorn? No…drinks, nothing like that? What a movie night this is" I huff, crossing my arms.

He waves me away while he swipes the remote from my hands "We'll get that stuff soon" Tony then presses play on the main menu and we began to watch the movie, I then let out a quiet yawn-I was tired but I didn't want to say no to him about a movie, I've been wanting to watch a movie with him.

"Okay" I said pausing the movie "I know you said we'd get that stuff later but I have a real hankering for candy, popcorn and Sprite, let's go" I said groggily, as I got up from the couch, with him trailing behind, I stopped.

"Where do you keep that crap?" I ask him, he just takes my hand and drags me to a cabinet in the kitchen part of the house. I don't understand why Tony has a kitchen-he buys fast food all the time-it's a wonder that he isn't fat.

He then opened the cabinet doors and handed me a bowl and then he threw the popcorn packet which landed right on the countertop, then he got some wine and scotch I gave him a disgusted look once he shut the cabinet door.

"Wine and Popcorn mm-m…..delicious" I say sticking my tongue out.

"Yeah-I always thought so" he said going back to the drinks, I rolled my eyes as I popped the popcorn in the popcorn machine and put the bowl under it so it wouldn't shoot out all over the beautifully tiled floor.

I let out a loud yawn, I asked Jarvis what time it was he said it was exactly 12:32 am in Malibu, I let out another yawn. It was late but that didn't stop me from spending a night with a friend, Then popcorn began to pop into the bowl after a few minutes of waiting, I turned my head over to see how Tony was doing he was busy with the drinks pouring them into separate glasses.

"You done over there Tony?" I ask

"Nope" he answered, then I heard I tiny clink then "Okay-_now_ I'm done…you?" he asked.

"Just about" I said glancing at the pale yellow delicacies falling into the red bowl "So, what made you ask me to watch a movie with you?" I asked "Trying to make me 'repay you?'" I asked, he just smiled and went over into the TV room.

I grabbed the bowl once it was done and walked over to the couch to sit beside him.

"You didn't answer my question"

He shrugged "It might" he simply said taking a sip of his scotch.

I rolled my eyes and gave him a shove which made his scotch almost spill out of his glass I then got a handful of popcorn and threw it at him; he gave me a surprised look.

"What the hell?" he said setting his scotch on the glass table, he then grabbed a handful of popcorn and threw it at me, I squealed-I was irritated on how girly I sounded but I didn't care I kept throwing popcorn at him, making him throw more at me, till we were running around the room with our hands loaded with popcorn. Till the fun made a complete right turn.

Tony then threw one piece of popcorn at me once I sat down to take a breather, and it went down my shirt I laughed.

"Ass hole" I curse as I quickly put a hand down my shirt to get it out of my cleavage and threw out the piece of popcorn.

"What?" he said, not even noticing.

"It went down my shirt, dumb-ass" I say throwing yet another piece of popcorn at Tony which just landed on his head, I burst out laughing.

He then quickly brushed it out of his hair and gave me a look.

"Don't. Touch. The Hair" he said, I just laughed more.

"I didn't even touch your damn hair!"

"That's what you think" Tony said with a smirk.

"Oh my god" I moaned as we went back to the movie, I glanced over at him and smiled _I don't think we've laughed like this in forever…this is great, what's a little kiss between friends? Nothing at all…_I thought, getting up and walking over to Tony to sit next to him.

"This is fun" I told him, he smiled.

"Want to do this tomorrow?" he asked, I nodded.

"Sure"

Hours later the movie had ended, I let out a well earned yawn once more and leaned my head against his shoulder, I saw him look over at me and smile, he leaned back-so we could both be comfortable, with my head still lying on his shoulder, I slowly shut my eyes. I then felt fingers playing through my hair, I opened my eyes and smiled as I lazily got a lock of his dark brown hair and began to twirl it aimlessly through my fingers. I never minded people playing with my hair, it was just people who petted me like a dog was what I didn't like, but this…this was different more loving and playful than anything else. I then got my other arm and rested it on his chest, his arc reactor glowing in the dark room, allowing me to see a bit in the night. I slowly shut my eyes and let out a sigh, this was nice…having a lot of fun and then just relaxing like this…its great…

"Tony?"

"Yeah?" he answered, groggily.

"I wish time would just stop right here" I said smiling "then this moment would last forever" I said sleepily.

"Me too" he agreed quietly, I then slowly got a blanket and rested it on top of us, as I fell asleep to fingers playing in my hair and then hum of machines, with the occasional DVD menu music.

I woke up on top of Tony first thing this morning; I smiled remembering last night, which was fun. I then poked his head a couple of times before his chocolate eyes opened. He glanced around the room, and then just shut his eyes again obviously not caring what happened. I then slowly got off of him and went to my room to go change into clean, non wrinkly, clothes.

Once that was done I went back into the entertainment room and got a look at all of the popcorn that was thrown last night. It was everywhere; I mean _everywhere_ it was like…snow only buttery deliciousness. I then walked over to Tony I was about to wake him up but then stopped myself, he deserves some sleep-I guess, so I just quietly vacuumed up all of the popcorn and cleaned the beer and wine glasses and put them away.

After waiting a few hours I then decided it was time to wake him up, he's had enough sleep-I'm sure.

I shook him a couple times; he just moaned and turned a little.

"Tony, come one get up-we have to look for the tesseract today"

He opened his eyes slightly to that, he then got up and looked at me "You mean you want both of us to look for it, today?"

"That's what I'm saying Tin Man" I told him.

He gave me a quick look about the nickname but then considered this "Alright, but…"

"But what?" I sigh.

"How about we go to the beach afterwards?" he offers, with a quick wink, I roll my eyes, even in his groggy state he can still flirt, wow.

"Uh-yeah-no, me and water just-don't-no" I say in one jumble, he looks at me confused.

"_What_?"

"_I don't know how to swim okay_!?" I shout, blushing, I hate feeling worthless.

"Oh, well I know how to swim-but, I choose not to" he says, getting off the couch.

"Why not-wait then why did you ask me?" I say, he gives me another quick wink.

"Just thought you would look bad-ass in a bikini" he says, I roll my eyes.

"Uh-yeah okay no, and you didn't answer my other question"

He just frowned at the ground and answered "It just brings back memories…"

"Of what?" I asked, in awe.

"Of…when I was abducted" Tony muttered.

"Oh…"

"Yeah…"

We stood in silence for awhile till one of us breaks the silence which is me.

"Well lets go see if we can find the opening of the tesseract!" I say grabbing my denim jacket.

"Uh…yeah hint of warning" he says, grabbing his leather jacket and sunglasses, he looks good in those "You might be mobbed by paparazzi and you might see you and me on TV, so yeah have fun with that"

I opened the door and we were greeted by a beautiful red car, I smiled another thing I love about Tony he's got the _best_ cars, once we got in he drove off while I was holding a device that would find any trace of the tesseract. The top was down, making my hair fly in all sorts of directions, it beeped for a second then quit, I grabbed Tony's shoulder.

"What? Can't you see I'm _driving_?"

"Tony, _listen_-the device beeped" I tell him "But it stopped because you just passed it apparently" I tell him, he then snatches his device from my grasp and drives backwards. I sigh and sit in my seat awkwardly glancing at him from time to time, the car jerked slightly as it came to a stop, then the device beeped once more.

"_See_? I _told_ you it was-"

"_Shut up Ali"_ Tony whispers, I stare at him.

"Why? All I said was-"

"I don't care _shut up_" Tony said sternly, and I obeyed he sounded serious, which was rather rare.

I then looked at where his eyes were, he was just staring into the ocean near his house, _I don't understand_ I thought _why is he staring at the ocean?_ I then see the seriousness in his eyes being replaced by a flicker of mischief-even though he was wearing his glasses I could still see his brown eyes.

"Wanna go to the beach?" he asks, I roll my eyes "I already said-"

"Yes-I know you did" he interrupts, I give him a look "And I understand-I mean who wouldn't want to go to the beach with _me_, _alone_ it's a smart idea" he says, giving me a quick wink, I roll my eyes again.

"If you're that desperate, I'll go" I agree, Tony then hit the gas on his car once we turned back something hit me.

"But you're not getting repaid" I remind him, he glances over at me then back to the road.

"You mean laid-and I know, I just have to seduce you into it" he says smiling, he shake my head.

Once he parked the car in the basement, I got unbuckled and walked out of the car, I was about to leave and go to my room to relax for a few hours before the movie, then hear Tony's voice say my name again.

"What?"

"You forgot these" he says holding out his hands, I squinted I couldn't make out what he was holding all I could see was a red glare, I walked over so I could see what he was holding.

It was the rings, painted hot rod red, I smiled, _He probably thinks I have to repay him now, its gonna take awhile for him to understand I'm not into that shit._ I look up at him my brown eyes locking with his soft chocolate eyes.

"Thank you" I murmur, putting the rings on my fingers and the boot rings in my pants pocket, I then whip my hair to one side as I looked back up at him again, he looked expectant, I cocked my head slightly, he then looked at me confusingly.

"What? No thank you kiss?" he said, sounding surprised; this time _I _gave him a wink.

"Don't get your hopes too high, lover-boy" I jeer, turning around and walking away, making sure to glance back to make sure that he wasn't eyeing me up as I left the room, which he did. I then turn around and ask.

"Hey what about the beach?"

"Forget it, if you don't like water, and I don't like water-what's the point?" he questioned, I just nodded in understanding.

"Well, were still on for movie night correct?"

"Yeah-I'll pick the movie again this time" he informs me, smiling mischievously as I turn around and leave.

It was 12:00 am in Malibu when I was sitting on my bed waiting for Tony to knock on my door telling me it was time to watch a movie, I glanced impatiently at the holographic clock that Jarvis brought up, and huffed in agitation. _Tony where are you? It's been two hours of waiting! _I then got impatient and walked out of my bedroom, stomping down the stairs and walking down the extravagant hallways, filled with antique statues, paintings, and fountains. Once I made it to the main entertainment room I found Tony setting up the movie with popcorn and wine sitting on the glass table along with some pop, I stared at him dumbfounded even though he didn't know I was in the room.

"What the..." I stumble, what the hell-he could have told me he was going to get things set up! Tony then turns around at my voice and smiles.

"Sorry, I forgot to mention that I was going to set up stuff early" he apologizes; I then smile slightly, feeling better that he-Tony Stark-for once in his life apologized. I looked up at him, he was waiting for me to forgive him my brown eyes locking with his for only a second and walking toward him.

"It's okay, you could've told Jarvis to tell me" I told him leaning forward to get my glass of wine; he shrugs and goes over to the couch to swipe the remote.

"Whatever" I hear him mumble as he put in the DVD; I glance over at him as I sit on the couch waiting for him to finish his shit. Once he put it in the DVD began to synchronize the DVD to figure out its data, while it was humming Tony then got his drink and sat next to me, once again, trying to be slick by putting his arm around the back of the couch, but this time I let him, I didn't seem to mind anymore. I don't know why really-but it doesn't seem to matter anymore.

"So" I say, as Tony looked over "What movie is it this time?" I ask him as I take a tiny sip of wine.

"The second one" he states I stare blankly at him, I squint my eyes slightly.

"The second one what?" I say exasperatingly, he then points his glass at the TV screen, I smiled-it was '_Sherlock Holmes: A game of shadows_' I then lean back in the couch and get comfortable, I pulled my shirt down slightly in self-consciousness, as I tell him.

"I've already seen this"

"Who says we have to watch it?" he says with a wink as he sips his scotch, for once I couldn't think of a smart ass comment this time I just shuffled uncomfortably and blushed slightly, as I muttered.

"I guess" As I grabbed the remote and hit play, I then set down my glass of wine and leaned back again, I was tired, but it was a sweet treat to do this each night so far. I then flinched a little when Tony's arm wrapped snugly around my waist as he pulled me closer to him, I smiled as I looked at him, he tried to avoid my eye contact-he obviously has something up his sleeve, as I put my head on his chest I let out a tiny sigh. I slowly shut my eyes, _why can't this happen every night for the rest of my life? I would love it…_

This time Tony wasn't playing with my hair-which was disappointing, I like it when people do that, but this time he was just pulling me closer and wrapping his arms around my waist as he slyly pulled me onto his lap. I opened my eyes I as looked at where I was at, I coked my head as glanced over at him.

"What the hell, Stark" I mutter as I try to get off his lap, but he has a secure grasp on my hips, I let out a irritated huff as I turn my head to look at him. Tony just had a proud smug look on his face as he asked.

"Can't keep away from me huh?"

"You're the one who pulled me onto your lap dumb-ass" I hiss, he just smirks.

"Yeah-huh, but you made the first move by resting your head on my chest" he clears his throat "And may I add, _Dumb-ass_" I laughed at the end of his comment, I shrugged.

"I guess you can win me over with some things" I say with a mischievous smile, I then wasn't expecting what came next-I don't know why because it's obvious knowing Tony and all. The billionaire then gave me a gentle tug that made me fall backward into his chest, since I moved up a little to see the TV, once I was close enough Tony then gently pushed my upper spine and pulled me in for a long kiss. I let out a moan as he pulled me a bit closer so that I could wrap my arms around his neck, he then slipped his tongue in for a minute and let it out as he broke away, I let out a noise that sounded like a whine when he did so.

"I love you" he whispered, I just let my eyes go into slits, _I…don't know how to answer that, I know 'I love you too' is an answer but…I don't know if I love him…_my eyes watered a little, _I don't want to hurt him-he probably wouldn't care but still…_

He was waiting for an answer, I could tell by his eyes and his facial expression he looked expectant and somewhat desperate. I held back a sigh, as I shut my eyes. Tony could tell that I was confused-I heard him mutter something as he gently moved me back to the couch.

"I'm sorry-okay? It's just…hard, to say…"

"I love you" he repeated, I just nodded as I dimly stared at the TV; I just slowly got up and walked out of the room.

"See you tomorrow" I mutter loud enough for him to hear, but this time Tony didn't answer.

I woke up to the sound of a loud deafening rumble, I quickly got out of bed and 'suited up' in my uniform and my Stark Tech gloves and boots. I stared at the gloves and boots as they assembled quickly right before my eyes, the rings separated in to three different sized ones that fit my fingers the one at the front was covered as it moved to my nails, covering them up with a red iron shield. The boots clicked into place around my narrow heels and got adjusted to my figure as I quickly ran out of my room.

As I was running to Tony's room-hoping that he would be there or getting suited for battle, I then got angry for running.

_The hell with running!_ I thought angrily as I jumped and the gloves and boots secured my fall as I flew down the hallway and made an abrupt halt as I almost ran into Tony in his Iron Man suit.

"Nice timing" I gasped, I could see him smirking through his mask as the red and gold warrior nodded.

"What happened?" I asked him as I looked at the sea from outside the windows.

"The tesseract" he growled, his voice was somewhat distorted from his Iron Man mask-sounding more like a robot than Tony Stark.

Just then a blue aura of light burst from the sky, shattering the glass windows before our eyes, I panicked as the glass shards came closer, I then saw a blur of red as Tony whizzed in front of me to block the shards of glass, I grabbed onto him even though I was flying and there really was no point in doing so. I heard the glass shards scratching the paint of our armor as they fell to the tiled floor, Tony then let go as he turned to see what had happened, I gasped as I peeked from behind his body.

The sky before us was emitted with a dark blue and purple swirl as you could see the night sky, as you could see the aliens bursting from the galaxy from the portal, the tesseract had opened.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey thanks for all of those followers! :) (love you guys XD) anyway...reviews are EXTREMLEY APPRECITATED so please review! i would love to know your thoughts and what you think might happen ;) gives me ideas :3**

Chapter 11

I watched in horror as the aliens soared down the beautiful crisp pale blue ocean, I glanced over at Tony, he was staring at the aliens he wasn't saying a word or taking action, I stared at him, how can he not do anything when his home is going to be destroyed along with other innocent people! I turned on him angrily.

"What the hell are you doing you bastard?" I shout, the metal mask turned to me, I glared at the blue lights where his eyes are and glared, I heard him let out a robotic sigh as he answered.

"These aren't hostile" he muttered, nodding his titanium head towards the portal, I cocked my head.

"Say what?"

"It's Thor"

"Thor?" I echoed as his mask just nodded.

"Yeah, we'd better go see what's up so we can get up to speed on this" he ordered as he blasted off, I let my gloves let out a extra burst of energy as they pushed me harder into the air, letting my hair pull into the wind. While I was flying I began to stare at the portal as it slowly crept towards me during my flight, there wasn't many aliens-but as I flew closer they weren't aliens after all they were…people, some of the males had ugly long hair that went to their shoulders, while the females looked extremely extravagant with war armor showing off every dazzling curve.

I finally went to a halt when I saw Tony stop, then I slowly glided over next to him to find out what was going on here. I almost gaped at the man who stood before us on his flying object; he was-_huge_ and I mean _huge_ he was like 6"9 or something he was one friggin tall dude, with muscles as big as a stump. He had long blonde hair-which was…, weird, and extravagant blue eyes that were the same color as the ocean but what really scared me was his voice.

"_Man of iron it's good to see you again_" He said, his voice literally shaking the earth as he spoke, I jumped at the sound of his voice, which to my dismay made me fly upward slightly, I then blushed as some of the warriors behind him exchanged a glance, I then slowly went down as Tony started laughing as his mask opened up.

"Thunder-Head calm down, your scaring our newest Avenger here" Tony laughed putting his arm around my waist, which I then removed instantly, I don't want this man to get the wrong idea, but once Tony said 'new avenger' the man's face looked worried and slightly happy.

"You're the maiden Ali, I've heard about?" he asked, pointing to me, I slowly nodded.

"Yeah-why?" I asked carefully, he then smiled and boomed.

"I'm Thor the one who hit you on the head-I'm glad to see you well" Thor said happily, I smiled back at him I didn't realize that he was so worried, maybe he is a softy-or he's just that way around friends and 'maidens.' Tony then broke up our friendly conversation.

"Okay yeah nice, la-di-da shit now what's going on?" he said sarcastically, Thor then turned to the billionaire and explained to us that Loki had escaped Asgardian prison and they were on the hunt for them and they thought he had returned here. I glanced over at Tony when he shook his head and muttered.

"No, he hasn't been here so-you and your friends can go back to candy land"

"Tony" I hissed, I turned to the Asgardians, they looked confused, I glared at Tony for a second "Look, you have to stay Thor but I-I mean _we_ would like your friends to leave, we don't need them right now" I ordered gently, Thor looked sad but determined to stop Loki as he turned to his friends and ordered them to go home, they then obeyed instantly and went into the portal that slowly swallowed them up as the portal left leaving the three of us hero's in the midst of the propaganda.

"Are we done here?" I asked, the two men just nodded and flew back to Stark's house, for questioning Thor-to figure out what happened.

Once we made it to Starks glass shattered home we began to ask Thor everything we needed to know, and what we need to do in our plan of action. Tony just shrugged at that idea and muttered.

"Spangles is usually in charge of war shit, so that's taken care of-now, what about if we capture Loki, how are we gonna make him talk?" he asked, Tony's voice suddenly growing serious, I just looked at Thor hoping he would have an answer, but the god turned around and looked at me, I cocked my head when I saw that Tony was staring at me as well.

"What the hell are you two getting at?" I asked them, Tony just began to smile.

"How about, you and Natasha-you know…seduce him into giving us info?" Tony asked grinning, I glared at the playboy.

"No" I say stubbornly.

"Why? What wrong with this idea?" Tony sighed, walking over to me, while Thor was just watching us in amusement. I stared at him dumbfounded, how in the name of hell does he not know?

"I'm not going to use myself as a sex object" I spat, whirling around to get a bottle of water; I flinched when I felt Tony's face beside mine as he whispered.

"You did it for me"

I blushed slightly and pushed him away, and muttered.

"That's different that wasn't supposed to happen" I say flipping my hair to one side as I got the bottled water from the refrigerator. I then walked over to the two so called 'heroes' and stood there while they were waiting for me to agree to seduce this gods brother.

"No, guys I'm not doing it-Natasha can do it, but leave me out of it" I snarl, feeling used and deceived.

After hours of fighting, they finally understood that I wouldn't do it-they have such thick heads, Tony offered for Thor to stay and help look for Loki, he sternly agreed stating that it would be a good idea for the three of us to stay together at all costs. But for the time being we had to lay low, because the press would have their noses all in this.

As I was walking down the hallway with Tony, I noticed he looked a little shaken-I was surprised I mean _him_ of all people. I looked at him worryingly and murmured.

"You okay?" Tony just turned to my voice and stopped in the middle of our walking and sighed.

"It's just-I don't think I can go through this again, mentally"

"What are you talking about?" I asked him as I walked with him to his room; he just looked in a daze as he answered.

"The last time after the battle of Manhattan, I was so shook up after the battle, being mobbed by reporters asking me 'what does it feel like to be a hero?' and other questions that were so pointless, while I had many sleepless nights" he paused as we entered his room and sat on the bed as he went on "my dreams being taking over by my fear of dying and loosing the ones I love dearly" he shut his eyes and buried his face into his hands as I leaned in next to him, trying to think of a way to comfort him, but I don't know how to comfort a guy.

I looked at him trying to think of something to say as looked at his expensive bed sheets; I just hugged him slightly and murmured soothingly.

"I'm sure it won't be the same as last time"

He put his face out of his hands "How will it be different?" he asked me, his brown eyes looking crazed in sorrow and worry. I thought about it, it probably won't be any different but he looks so…out of it I had to say it will be different this time.

"It will _trust_ me"

Tony just looked at me, and then went back to the wall and stared at it for awhile.

"I mean-we all look out for each other and I'll do the same for you" I say, meaning every word of it, Tony just smiled a little, seeing this made me feel a little bit better. He then turns to me his brown eyes never leaving mine as he whispered.

"And I'd do the same for you"

I felt the blood rush to my face slightly at the last comment and I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and left him in his room to calm down. Once I shut his door, I smiled at the thought of us looking out for each other in battle-but there are more important things to think about than…people caring for one another. Once I walked into my bedroom I shut the door and locked it, stripped out of my skin tight uniform and changed into my pajamas, I then heard a hum from my tablet, I smiled as I swiped it off my pillow and read the IM.

'**By the way, sexy uniform-I like it ;)** **Tony**' I couldn't help but laugh at the IM; I blushed a little and replied back.

**Again, you are a perv ;D**

He replied back instantly, we began to have a long IM conversation.

**I'd like to call it being a playboy**

**You mean a, genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist?**

**Exactly**

**Lol Stark**

**;) It's what I do**

**You do a very good job with it then :3**

**Thanks but I already knew that**

**Oh sorry Mr. Stark**

**You are forgiven Ms. Henderson**

**Oh thanks I was ****_so _****worried that you wouldn't jk ;)**

**:I**

**XD You feel better now?**

**Meh-I've been worse, but you make me feel better**

**Ditto 3**

**…**

***Awkward silence***

**Gay baby has been born**

**_Tony_****!**

**What? It's true**

**No its not, how would you possibly know that?**

**I'm a genius remember?**

**Oh right sorry, I forgot that you're arrogant as well**

**Oh yeah I am! :D**

**Do you wanna quit now? It's almost 2 am**

**;( Not so much**

**Why? I thought you said you felt better**

**I said ****_you_**** make me feel better**

**Your point?**

**Come to my room and you'll get the gist of it**

**…**

**Well?**

**I'd rather not**

**Why? I thought you enjoyed it**

**O_O **

**XD I take that as a no**

**You got it**

**Didn't you like it?**

**-.- can we not talk about it? **

**Y? too embarrassed to say that you love 'doing it?' ^-^**

**No, I just don't find it at all…fun**

**Pffth, I'll take that as a 'yes I loved it when you ravished me'**

**O_O you think about this a lot in your spare time?**

**Yup**

**Noticed**

**Congratulations *claps***

**Ass**

**Oh nice touch bad language :D**

**XP you done?**

**Nope**

**Shit**

**XD alright! I'm done…for now….:) **

**OAO oh noes! Evil face scareth me!**

**It better :D mwhahahahahaha!**

**O_O goodnight?**

**Oh yeah, right goodnight love 3**

**I'm not your love**

**U sure? Video feed and that night says different, now…what happened that night…oh yes I remember you were distinctively moaning…**

**SHUT UP!**

**That's not how I remember it XD**

**Plz quit talking about it :) thanks -.-**

**…night Ali**

**Night Tony 3**

**3**

I then tried to make the blood rushing to my face stop as it slowly went down, I then laid my head on my pillow and went into a deep well earned sleep.

I woke up to the sound of seagulls and the ocean tide crashing against the rocks heard faintly in the distance as I groggily got up and got dressed and ready for the day. Once I opened the door I let out a startled yelp when I almost walked into Tony's arms, he just smiled.

"Can't keep away huh?" he asks as his snakes his arms around my waist.

"Shut your ass Stark" I hiss lovingly as I slip out of his arms, I hear him chuckle as I leave the hallway to go get some food. Once I was in the kitchen I saw Thor eating Pop-tarts, I held back a laugh seeing a huge god eating pop-tarts isn't exactly…what you would expect. I went into the kitchen and got some kiwis, and an apple with some water, once I finished eating I went down to the basement to see what Tony was up to.

When I went down the staircase to my dismay, he wasn't even there; I shrugged it off and checked each room to make sure that he was here. After a few hours of searching I saw him in the sparring room, kicking a stand up punching bag, he was wearing head braces and gloves and stuff like that. I walked up to him, wondering if he wouldn't mind sparring with me for a change.

"Hey" I say watching him beat the sand out of the bag, he glances quickly over at me and gasps out a 'hey' before going back to the punching bag.

"So…I was wondering if-you wouldn't mind sparring with me-I mean if that's okay with you" I say, when I saw him look at me confused. I shuffled my feet a little then jerked my head up when he said.

"Sure"

"Really?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind fighting a sexy girl" he stated walking over to the ring; I rolled my eyes before entering it myself. Once we were both inside the ring, Tony went over the pointless rules of boxing, I let out a loud sigh and moaned.

"_I don't need the PBS special of boxing_!"

"Alright then" Tony states, I then see his leg head straight for my face, I quickly grabbed it and twisted it, Tony let out a tiny groan as I did so. I then grabbed his neck with my legs by making a tiny leap across and grasped my legs around his neck I did a back flip while my legs were still around Tony's neck as I landed by slamming him against the floor with me on the ground as well.

"Oh dude…" Tony groaned as he tried to get up but I wouldn't let him.

"What?" I say indigently as I look over at him.

"That was" he gasped and swallowed hard trying to get a breather in "Awesome"

"Is it just because I wrapped my legs around your neck? Or the fact that it was bad ass?"

"Bit of both" he grunted as I gently let him go, he then slowly got up and then once he got up Tony helped me up.

"I would do better in my suit" he said letting go of my hand.

"True, but it's not fair" I told him with a smile.

He just shrugged and went back to the punching bag, I stayed there with him for awhile, because to be honest, I didn't want to be with Thor-he's nice but I can't exactly relate to him as well as I can with Tony. After a few hours of boxing and outsmarting Tony with my spy skills we both went into the entertainment part of his house and got a drink. As we were drinking we began to wonder what had become of Thor, Tony just shrugged.

"He's probably eating the house for all I know" he muttered as I sat on the couch.

"Probably" I agreed with a laugh before taking a sip of my water, Tony then walked over to sit next to me and asked.

"Haven't you noticed that were…kinda like a couple?" I turned to him pretending to be stunned.

"What was your first clue?"

He laughed as he went on "No-but seriously though, don't you think so?"

I shrugged "I guess" I say fiddling with my glass nervously, my eyes then flicker up at him "What about it?"

"Nothing-just…don't you think that we should be?" Tony offered slyly, I stared at him gaping.

"Be what?" I asked stupidly as I stumbled on my words a little.

"Together" he answered blandly, I felt the heat go to my face as I franticly thought about this, _Okay let me think…he's forty I'm twenty uh-no_! _but then again…we do get along very well…were alike in _some _ways…aside from the science and playboy bit…and other stuff…but…this-doesn't….I don't know…should I_?_ I-I don't know…_ I nervously glanced at Tony then at my water, I can't leave him hanging like this, but what do I say? I swallowed as I answered.

"I-I honestly don't know…"

"Aw-come on! I mean you get _me_ that's the best part" he said with a grin, I let out a nervous laugh-but it didn't change the humiliation and nervousness I felt inside, the idea of changing the subject came to mind-but it seemed pretty pointless, and stupid, when I came up with ways to avoid it. I finished my water thirstily-most likely from the thermal heat on my face.

I then got somewhat excited when I came up with a way for this not to happen so then I won't look like an idiot.

"I haven't told you that I l-l-lov…love"

"Me" he finished for me I shyly nodded, _why can I say that? Damn it! _

"I think I can live with the fact that your scared to admit that you love me" he stated somewhat challengingly, I gave him a glare "What? You're obviously afraid to say it-I say that's the Phoenix's only weakness"

"I'm not afraid" I say indigently, he gives me a dueling look.

"Oh yeah? Say it" he challenged

"Challenge accepted" I say haughtily, he smirked as I began trying to say it.

"I…"

"I'm waiting Sketches"

I smiled nervously as I kept stuttering, I could never do this-_never_ I'm very stubborn-but it's not just that-it's that I'm not too sure that I love him or not…

"I…l-love…" I couldn't do it, it was obvious-Tony was just had his arms crossed and had a huge grin on his face as I was stuttering.

"I-I-I-I can't-_I can't do this_!" I shout getting off the couch, while Tony was laughing at me, I turned on him.

"Oh how nice poking fun-I've _always_ loved that!" I shout as I whirled around and stomped off while Tony was obviously following me saying that he wasn't laughing at me.

"Oh really? Then what were you laughing at? The _air_?" I countered, before he could make a rude comeback I kept going "You wanna know why this is so hard for me to say?" I shout, glaring at him "Because I've never dated a single guy in my life! I was all alone in High School and college! Nobody wanted to be with the ugly girl with who got bullied and wore glasses _no_, of course they don't-nobody wants to be with somebody as boring and as depressing as me!" I gasp trying to get a breath, Tony thought this was an opportunity to say something but I cut him off, I wasn't finished yet "In high school" I began, more quieter now-feeling the pain and sorrow from years ago raining down on me once more "All I had was my friends-and I didn't have much…and, we were kids-we did everything together…sometimes-then once we hit fifteen and sixteen, that all changed guys came into the picture-more so than I had expected…I mean I knew it was going to happen and all that but…it's just…we grew up so fast and-I mean not all of my friends had boyfriends at the time, but if they didn't they would have guy friends that they could seriously relate to-I never had that, but yet whenever my friend would have a problem with asking the guy something or anything like that, I would always give them advice…and it would always help…and then there I was…the only girl who had never had a friend like relationship with a guy or a boyfriend and that's all they would bring up and talk about and…I felt…excluded, extremely because I had no one to turn to-to talk to…and I was alone…and I would be all happy one minute but whenever one of them would bring it up I would slowly turn sad and depressed wishing that I had someone….and I never did" I pause getting a breath of air before moving on, tears were then beginning to fall onto the tiles as I went on.

"But don't get me wrong-I was really happy for them, I was glad that they had found someone to be with…it's just the thought of seeing myself years later sitting at the lunch table…alone while the others are sitting with their boyfriends happy and smiling while I'm at my table sketching and fighting back tears…they always said that they won't leave me or anything like that but trust me, there will be a time where they will have to leave and not look back…and it happened…I never saw them again..." my throat felt like it was swelling up, as it usually does when I'm in a deep well of sorrow, as I fought back tears as I tried to go on "I'll always be left behind" was all I could get out as I walked off into the dark lit hallway and slammed the door to my room and laid on my bed and began remembering the depressing moments of High School.

My face felt dry and crummy as it usually does after I cry for a long time as I wiped off my tears and sat up from my bed, it had been three hours since I told Tony that I had never been in a relationship with a guy in my life-it's not surprising really, even new kids at school could tell…and I'm sure it's because I'm as ugly as hell. I glanced around my room for minute-desperate to find something to do to forget the shitty past of high school, I saw my tablet and thought it might be better to IM Tony rather than talk to him face-to-face, I grabbed the tablet and IM'd him.

**Hi**

I waited a few seconds before he replied back, he was obviously waiting for me to talk to him in some way, I checked my messages to find his reply.

**Hey…you okay?**

**…no**

**I'm sorry**

**It's not your fault…I just have a depressing past in high school okay?**

**Noticed…but…you really never had a relationship?**

**Tony really? You want to talk about that now?**

**Sorry just…it's hard to believe**

**I don't believe ****_that_**

**Why? Your perfect…that's why I love you**

**…I don't know about the perfect part but…yeah**

**You are your perfect**

**No I'm not**

**Yes you are!**

**I don't think so…**

**Well I do and you are perfect**

**…yeah sure**

**Oh my f-ing god do I have to spell out everything for you!?**

**It would help…**

**Oh brother…well, I love you**

**Is that all you can say today?**

**Yes, but…I want you to answer me!**

**_Answer what_****!?**

**You know**

**…IM its different it's just saying it that's hard…and now isn't the right time**

**Every time wasn't a good time for you and now I'm saying it and I want you to say it back, face-to-face**

**…I can't **

**You can you just won't**

**Tony it's complicated…**

**I understand but the past is the past and the future is now**

**I know…**

**Then why won't you say it!?**

**I DON'T KNOW!**

**…**

**I'm sorry I just can't right now…things are too delicate right now**

**I guess…**

**How's Thor?**

**Idk, last I saw he was eating the toaster**

**Sarcasm I'm guessing? I'm not sure because I'm pretty sure Thor would eat a toaster**

**Ikr?**

**:)**

**Well…want me to come to your room for face-to-face talking? Or are you too 'stressed'?**

**Idk if you want to that's fine, I honestly don't care**

**K**

It wasn't more than a second later he was knocking on my door, I couldn't help but smile a little-he so predictable, I opened the door and saw him-this time he wasn't grinning from ear to ear, he was just mellow for once in his god forsaken life. I calmly let him in, he sat on my bed as I quickly did the same and sat next to him, we sat in silence for awhile till I noticed he was staring at me again.

"What?" I sighed, he just blinked at me.

"I just can't get over the fact that you've never had a boyfriend"

"Well I haven't alright?" I snap, I was obviously pissed-in high school whenever my friends would be joking with me I would be so pissed but I tried to contain my anger and try to put on a smile-and it worked, I just got worked up over the stupidest shit.

"Well…so you've never been kissed in your life? High school and college?" he asks, sounding stunned.

"Never" I say, feeling some more salty tears coming on, he kept asking questions like that-but his next question made me glare at him.

"No one night stand?"

"Tony" I say blandly, he just winks, I roll my eyes and mutter.

"No, no one night stands"

"Well man I feel special" Tony declares wrapping his arm around my waist, giving me a tug-pulling me closer to him.

"Oh god" I moan.

"What? I was your first kiss and the first person you ever had-"

"_Shut up_"

"-ex with and I just feel good"

I roll my eyes as he gives me a random squeeze and let's go of me; we then went into an awkward silence and then Tony breaks the silence by making a comment.

"Well you are a good kisser for a first timer" he says, I blush a little and look at the carpet as I mumble.

"Shut up"

"Well you are, sheesh-I would've thought you would've taken that as a compliment"

"Not right now" I tell him, even though it did make my stomach flutter for some strange reason.

I got up and looked around wanting something to do, Tony just stared at me incredulously, I gave him the same look back just to toy with him.

"What are you _doing_?" he asked, I shrugged.

"Looking for something to do" I moaned, dragging my feet back to the bed and making a plop on the bed.

"I'm right here" he smirked, I smiled.

"I see" I answered blandly, he looked like he was wanting another round, I rolled my eyes.

"Too bad Stark, you haven't won me over yet" I murmur in his ear, biting my lip, _for the love of God, Tony _please_ don't take it as a chance to make a move_. But sadly he did-he didn't even give me a chance to breathe he already pressed his lips against mine forcefully, his hands were already under my shirt I quickly put my hands under my shirt and grabbed his hands-in the middle of our kissing and yanked them off my bra clasp, once I did that I pushed him away making him fall off the bed with a loud thump.

I heard him let out a grunt and I then saw his head pop up from behind the front of my bed, I couldn't help but laugh a little, it was kinda funny.

"What the hell was that for?" Tony asked, getting up from the carpet "I thought you were hinting for me to-you know" he winked, I couldn't help but blush a little-I'm such a girl with some stuff, I always curse myself for that.

"I wasn't…but"

"Yeah?" he said sounding hopeful, _damn he is desperate…but he probably does that to win girls over he is a womanizer after all…and he's got me around his finger…_I smiled mischievously, trying to get him to think that I'll say yes, there was a spark of hunger flickering in those brown eyes of his as I looked into them, I let out a sigh, I can't do this, and besides what _would_ I say? Besides I have to pay for it, it was my dumb-ass idea to let him in here to begin with, even if it is his house.

I slowly stood up and walked up to him, _god I'm such an idiot take me away now…_, I then wrapped my arms around his neck while he went back to where he started. His hands went down my lower back then slowly slid past my thighs and stopped there while he had his hands there I wrapped my legs around his waist as he quickly, yet gently laid me on the bed, then I quickly unbuttoned his shirt and he slipped it off smoothly, once he did that I felt him slipping my T-shirt over my head and stripped it off my body while I grabbed his back and pulled him downward so he could get back to my lips. While we were kissing I heard on knock on the door, we both froze, I looked at him, his pupils were dilated as he quickly leaned backward to see if the door was locked-it wasn't, my face slowly turned to a deep shade of red as I was about to get up and grab my shirt but Tony put a hand on my collar bone.

"Wait, a second" he whispered, he looked up at the ceiling and whispered quietly.

"Jarvis?"

"Yes sir" he said in the same quiet volume, I looked frantically around hoping that whoever was at the door wouldn't come in.

"Lock the door _quietly_, quiet being the keyword here"

"Sir" he answered, I faintly heard a small click but no more I was about to burst out laughing when I heard Tony call-more loudly now.

"Who is it?" I tightened my lips, trying not to laugh.

"It it me Metal Man" boomed Thor, I shut my eyes and let out a sigh, Tony quickly put his finger to my lips.

"What do you want?"

"I wanted to know where the food delicacies known as the Pop-Tarts are at-we are out" I shut my eyes and rolled over and covered my face in my pillow trying to contain my laughter, I felt Tony's gaze on me as he answered.

"I'm busy right now Thunder-head, you'll…have to wait"

I heard the footsteps die away as I rolled back over to him; one eyebrow was lifted while the other stayed low as he offered.

"Shall we?"

"Lets" I answer as his lips go back to mine once more.


	12. Chapter 12

**Again thanks for the watches and stuff but...i want some opinions and stuff so reviews would be much appreciated ;) and anyway in this Chapter some love problems are brought to light once again with Ali and Tony once more (yeah sorry but since there in Malibu together stuff happens XD) so VIOLA! Chapter 12 :D**

Chapter 12

I woke up to the morning light in my eyes as they fluttered open as I found myself under the covers of my bed, I rolled over and almost screamed when I saw that Tony was there this time, his bare muscular back was moving up and down from breathing, I smiled and shut my eyes slowly once again, _even though its wrong…it feels…right that he's laying next to me…to sense his presence next to me…its…nice…_I then stiffened slightly when I heard him grunt and roll over next to me. He then wrapped his arm around my abdomen under the covers and pulled me close to him, I turned my head to look at him, and he was awake.

"Morning gorgeous" he murmurs, I roll my eyes at him and give him a playful shove on the arc reactor as I was about to get up-then realizing that I have no clothes on. I blushed as I stopped myself from getting up off the bed; I rolled back over to him.

"Tony-where are my clothes?" I ask, he smiles as he holds up my huge T-shirt that I wore the night before, I gaped at him as he had a huge smirk on his face.

"You want it? Get it" he said challengingly, I gave him an evil smile as I quickly swipe my hand out to try and grab it, but Tony was faster as he jerked his hand away from me, I scowled at him menacingly as I tried again and again-till he threw it on top of the lampshade, I gaped at him once more.

"I swear to god I _will_ kill you" I say, as I was trying to grab the sheets to cover myself but Tony takes them all, I quickly yank them put of his grasp but quickly turned away when I gave him a piece of the bed sheet so I wouldn't have to feel embarrassed or awkward, I felt him take it out of my hands as he wrapped it around his waist, I then turned around and grabbed my shirt and put it on then let the sheet drop to the floor once I had it on, it almost came to the knees so I was covered. I then found my pants, but it felt weird without my bra and underwear, I looked around and then became stressed out as I said.

"Where's my bra?" I ask him, I then glare at him when I see that he was holding it in his hands, I let my eyes go to slits as I glare at him.

"Give it" I say, sternly-he surprisingly obliged and gingerly handed it to me, I quickly went to the bathroom in my room and took off my shirt and snapped my bra back on, once I had it on I slipped my shirt back on and walked back into my bedroom Tony still had his sheet wrapped around his waist, I couldn't help but feel a bit flushed at the fact that we did this again and that he was here this time-so…yeah its gonna be awkward. My eyes then dilated as I saw my underwear and pants I quickly walked over and grabbed them and put them on quickly without him seeing any piece of my lower body. Once I had all my clothes on I felt better-and covered, and not so violated as I helped Tony find his clothes, but we couldn't find his shirt, I glanced up at him while he was looking for it, when he turned to see that I was looking at him I quickly whipped my head around and looked under the bed.

"What?" he asked, I could hear his footsteps approaching me, I blushed a little as I found his shirt and handed it to him, he gratefully took it and slipped it on but left it unbuttoned for some reason.

"Nothing" I say biting my lip as I looked at my bare feet, he was staring at me-obviously waiting for an answer.

I sucked my cheeks in a little as I asked him "So…how are you?" I say awkwardly he just smirks and makes a laughing noise through his nose.

"Great-since I'm here with you" he answers, I blush again, but I try to make it go down by repeating in my head, _I don't love him, I don't love him_ but then an interesting question came to mind as I realized _If I don't love him…why do I hang out with him and sleep with him_?

I glanced up at him and murmur "me too" he just gives me a look.

"If you love me then say it" he challenges hardly, I give him a sad look, he knows I can't it's just…hard to say I love…him…it seems impossible…

"You know I can't" I mutter, I hear him sigh as he got up and reached his hand out to me, I gingerly took it while Tony helped me up as we walked out of the bedroom to go get something to eat.

Once we got in the kitchen part of the Stark Mansion we separated and got what we had been craving for, I got some coco puffs while Tony got some toast, I looked over at him when he was putting the bread in the toaster.

"You're probably going to burn it" I mutter, he smirks.

"Probably"

"You burn everything"

"I know"

I then turned around as I popped a single coco puff in my mouth, and mumbled through the puff of chocolate.

"So…how was…" I began to grope for a conversation starter-since we just…you know-did it last night again…

"Last night" he put in for me, I turned on him and gave him an irritable look, he just gave me a quick smile and popped the bread out which had now become to charcoaled pieces of what was going to be toast but was just a blackened mess. I smiled at Tony's miserable excuse for a piece of toast as I walked over to him, being careful not to spill my chocolate goodies in milk.

"Told you, you would burn it" I say, he just gives me a quick look and goes back to buttering the charcoaled bread, he shrugged.

"I like my toast burnt anyways" he said as he was done buttering it he put the toast in his mouth as he swiped the TV remote. I walked over to the couch and sat down and began eating my coco puffs as I answered.

"Likewise"

Tony then punched some buttons in on the remote and the news came on showing us what had 'actually' happened at the portal opening I rolled my eyes.

"Reporters are a bunch of dumb-asses" I commented as I took another bite of my cereal; Tony cringes slightly as he answers.

"Amen to that" I cocked my head slightly, why did he seem so offended by that? I eyed him warily as I muttered.

"Tony" I almost burst out laughing at the way I said it sounded like I was his mother "What's up?"

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose and took another bite of his toast as he answered.

"I slept with a reporter" I honestly wasn't surprised-I mean he has slept with about ten bazillion women, something I'm sure he wants a medal for. He was looking at me wanting to know if I hated him or not for that, I just shrugged.

"Doesn't surprise me"

"Really? That's surprising-well actually-yeah-no that's not surprising" he said in one jumble, I just gave him a quick smile as I sipped the milk out of my cereal, I looked over at the TV and saw something unexpected, a picture of me and Tony popped up on the TV, I almost spit out my milk as I glanced at him in worry-what if my cover has been blown? I swallowed my milk as Tony looked at me the same instant and turned up the volume on the TV, I gave him a thoughtful glance as I listened in.

"…No one knows who this girl is or where she came from but one thing's for sure-they're surely a cute couple"

I blushed hard-core this time; I didn't even want to look at him this time-even a friggin TV reporter wants me to date this son of a bitch! What the hell is up with this world? I calmly got up and walked over to the counter in which I slammed my bowl on the dark gray granite countertop, which made a loud clanking sound when I did so. It was then I felt Tony's arms around me he was swinging me gently from side to side as I shut my eyes, this can't happen…not now…I already have enough on mind than being in love for the first time in my life…

"Ali?" he murmured, I kept my eyes shut as I hummed letting him know that I was listening.

"Your fine…it's just a gossipy reporter nothing will happen…your fine" he soothed; I just intertwined my fingers with his as he held them still swaying me gently as I did so I sighed and mumbled back.

"I don't know who to trust or to turn to right now" I muttered "There's no one I can talk to…we have the battle and then this…I just don't know how this will work Tony…I already have enough worries on my mind" I told him, Tony just hummed in understanding, I then felt his bearded chin on top of my head as he let the swaying stop.

"You can trust me you know" he muttered, I just thought for awhile _I know I can Tony but…it's just…all of this stuff in the Avengers…the war, the love, the lies, the hatred…the blood…and death, I don't know if I can face it…_But I couldn't possibly tell him that I was scared, it was one thing I would never admit to a person, I just murmured a noise that indicated that I agreed with him, I felt Tony snake his arms around my waist as he bent his head down and gave me a kiss on the cheek like I did when he was breaking down.

"I love you Ali-and I don't want to lose you out of my life"

I smiled and murmured "I know" _I love you too…_I thought, then my eyes widened, _did I just say that I love him?-well I didn't say it but…I love him…I love Tony Stark…_

We stayed like this for a few minutes before we both left and went our separate ways in the mansion, I quickly went into my room and shut the door behind me I leaned against it as I repeated now verbally to myself.

"I'm in love with Tony"

I sat on my bed in utter astonishment as the realization dawned on me that I love Tony Stark, I shut my eyes and smiled in utter happiness that I finally agreed and saw it. I just grabbed the TV remote and hit the power button as the screen faded into a show-it was _Young Justice_, I rolled my eyes this show was cool and all-but the relationships god! I have never seen a show with such horrible couples.

I was sitting on my bed for hours watching _The Young Justice Marathon _while I was busy fiddling with my tablet for no apparent reason, I then got an IM-most likely it's from Tony-cause I doubt Thor knows how to use a tablet let alone know what it is.

I swiped the lock bar off the screen and checked my messages and I was right, it was from Tony again.

**Hey Sketches wanna do some dirty boxing? ;)**

I smiled and IM'd back.

**Sure, sounds like fun**

**Yes! I knew you would say yes!**

I rolled my eyes and for the fun of it changed into my S.H.I.E.L.D uniform and left the bedroom.

Once I finally made it to the workout room I saw Tony along with Thor in the ring-I crossed my arms and watched them do some dirty boxing this will be interesting. Tony was talking to-most likely telling him the basics of boxing and then nodded and I could hear him ask "You get it now?" Thor nodded and put the head gear on, I almost laughed he looked like a huge marshmallow in that getup.

Tony started by doing a simple punch in the stomach-Thor on the other hand jumped backward once Tony had forced his fist forward to his stomach and dodged it easily. Tony was getting testy as he kicked him in the thigh Thor didn't dodge it in time as the billionaire kicked him-Thor then tipped backward as Tony seized the opportunity to punch his helmet which made him fall to the ground, Tony then fell on top of him and Thor was K.O'd.

I then started clapping my hands; the two men turned around to the sound and smiled when they saw who it was.

"Nice job Stark" I commented as I walked over to the two of them, Thor looked as if he was waiting for a compliment and I smiled and said.

"Oh-sorry Thor you did a good job as well" Thor then leaned back and gave me one of his big smiles as he left the boxing ring and sat down on one of the leather chairs. I then walked under the wire that Tony lifted up for me as I leaned back slightly as he eyed my suit for a second then asked.

"What did you wear your seductive uniform for?"

I shrugged "Just thought you would like it" I told him-trying to hold back a smile, Tony just smiled at me and offered.

"Shall we fight Ms. Henderson?"

"Yes-of course Mr. Stark" I say seriously as we choose our positions in the ring, I then hear the ding of the bell as we began to walk slowly in circles-planning our choice of attack, I attack first by lunging to the floor of the ring and swinging out one leg and twirled it around causing Tony to trip and fall, Tony let out a grunt as he landed. Thor was counting down the seconds that he had till he could get up Tony then leaped to his feet and made a beeline for my face I instantly saw his foot in my view I quickly grabbed it and twisted it slightly-but not so hard to the point where he would have to have surgery. Tony let out another yelp of pain as I quickly leaped up and kicked his chest slightly causing him to fall backward once more as I landed right on his back my legs straddled on top of him-Then Thor's booming voice got me out of my fighting zone as I heard him shout.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two…one K.O!" I couldn't help but laugh-hearing Thor say things that we say, it just sounds hilarious.

"Did I not say it right Lady on fire?" he asked, I smiled-_Lady on Fire…I like it_- I shook my head "No of course not-you said it correctly Thor, it's just…never mind" I say not wanting to possibly hurt his feelings. Tony then moaned and I quickly helped him up and asked him.

"You okay? I didn't hurt you did I?" I ask in one quick jumble, eyeing him over-Tony just gives me a weird look.

"Yeah, just a bit sore-why are you so worried all of a sudden?" I froze, _Umm…good question…its cause I realized that I love you-Ha!-yeah not telling him that…_I just put a hand behind my head and answered nervously.

"Uh-ha…ha-ha…yeah I'm fine-I mean I'm not worried" I say, Tony just eyes me warily and smirks.

"Right…sure-so Thor" he said turning to the God as I quickly let out a sigh of relief "What do you think? she's tough right? Just like I said" Thor just nodded in agreement and got his hammer off the glass table and agreed.

"Yes, you are lucky to have her as your-what do you Midgardians call it? Girlfriends?" Thor asks mainly to himself, I turn to Tony my mouth gaped.

"You told him we were together?"

Tony shrugged "Well yeah we are kinda a couple…I mean we hooked up last night"

I flinched.

"And…if that isn't a couple then _what is_?" Tony asked me, I consider this for a moment and answered.

"Friends with benefits?" Tony then shrugged in agreement.

"That's true" I smiled, _he is right though if we're not dating then why are we kissing and…'hooking up'? That's the real question…_ Tony then turned around while I lifted the wire of the boxing arena and let him out while he did the same for me while I got out. Once we were both out of the cage, Thor departed and left us alone in the workout room, I turn to him in utter embarrassment letting my true feelings gush out a few minutes ago, And I'm sure that's what Tony wanted to talk to me about, his brown eyes were confused but yet loving as he took a step closer to me.

"Why were you so concerned earlier?" he asked, I flinched as he went on "I thought you said that you couldn't admit your feelings" he said his eyes narrowing, I blushed as I stared into those soft brown eyes of his as I murmured.

"I…can't" was all I managed to say before Tony smirked and walked off leaving me in the room as I slowly followed him-I then froze at his last comment.

"Just so you know" Tony said while he was walking down the hallway "I know when a girl loves me when she gushes like that" I felt the blood rush to my face instantly, _was it really that noticeable_? _God I hope not…I mean I knew I was gushing a little bit but…wow…_I then hurried by his side and asked.

"Was it-I mean I wasn't gushing!" I say catching myself; Tony gave me a quick glance and muttered.

"Yeah sure…But I can wait…" He said smugly, I shrugged off my embarrassment as I walked with him to the basement, once we both made it down the steps me and Tony punched in our codes and walked inside, Tony made a bee-line for his Stark Tech computers with touch screen capability and touch screen keyboards on some. I was in awe as I stared at the computers-I mean I saw them I just never looked at them this closely.

Tony then sat down in his chair and began to check on his miniaturized arc reactor, I decided to watch for the hell of it as I walked over to him and leaned in next to him to check out what was going on in his glowing heart of his. Tony then looked like he was stumped on something then asked Jarvis a complicated science question which made no sense in my simple brain. I just looked at his screens while he was talking-there was so many screen showing up in full view a live video stream of his arc reactor and what it's doing to his blood stream that flows from the heart. I looked at all of the other things that were showing his vitals and other things…it was quite boring and yet intriguing at the same time, it was then I asked him.

"Your blood isn't poisoned again is it?" I asked him, he just smirked.

"No thank god-but I'm just wondering if there is any other elements out there that can help my heart and work with it better than this element" Tony informed me, I just stared at him confused.

"But-if your element in your chest is fine then leave it you shouldn't have to do better; things don't have to be perfect"

Tony then made a fake agitated sigh "See there's the problem-see _I'm_ perfect so I have to make my reactor perfect too"

I rolled my eyes "Oh brother" Tony just burst out laughing and went back to his computer he then swiped his hand over top of his glass keyboard as the holographic keys appeared as he began to type, I watched him in awe as he began to search for other elements then Jarvis stopped his searching by shutting down the search.

"_Jarvis_!" Tony shouted, Jarvis then solemnly replied.

"I'm sorry sir, but I've told you numerous times that there is no other sustainable element that can act as a viable replacement for the core" I glanced over at him once Jarvis was done telling him, Tony just sighed and shook his head.

"Alright then Jarvis" Tony muttered as he got up from his chair, and walked over to his Iron Man suits, it was then that I looked down at my red rings and smiled once more at them, they always make me smile whenever I look at them for some reason-probably because Tony made them for me, but then again…it'll be bad-ass to use in the battle.

I almost screamed in shock when I saw Tony lift up his hand as one of his gloves flew up to meet him and attached to his hand instantly, he turned around to see my face, I looked like a retarded ass, I was standing there my head bent down while my mouth was gaped. Tony started smiling and asked.

"Like it?"

I was quiet for a few seconds in shock as I stuttered "Uh-y-yeah its bad-ass but…what the hell Stark" I say in jumble while walking over, Tony just laughed slightly while I was observing his new armor-from what I could see at such a distance it had more gold alloy than it did red which made sense because I recall Tony saying that the gold alloy has higher defense than red, which to me didn't make much sense but it was intriguing-somewhat on why gold is stronger than red. Once I got closer I got a better view of his armor-I was right it was more gold than red, there was some red-but it was mainly gold and it looked more battle ready than his other forty suits, which I don't understand why I thought that but it did seem that way.

"It's bad-ass Tony" I tell him while his other glove flew out to him directly-which made me scream in surprise, Tony then turns to me, his eyes full of confusion and humor.

"Don't be such a girl-it's just motion activated" He says with a shrug, I glare at him.

"I'm not a girl"

"Not last I checked"

I roll my eyes and try to make the blood go down that was rushing up to my face as I shove him.

"Shut up"

Tony then disassembles the gloves by unscrewing them and setting them on the display case-secured by Jarvis, I then watch him walk back to the computers it was then I began to wonder about _us_. _Does he really want us to be…together? Or is it just a joke? …It might be a joke…but who knows? It could be…but I love him…but I can't tell him…not now or never, but soon…it's just right now isn't the best time…Maybe after we capture Loki and bring home the Tesseract…if we can even do that…_My eyes were trained on the holograms around the suits as my mind began to wonder. _I mean the day we kissed was…great-but that's not the point of it the point of it is…was it meant to be?-well that's not the question but the real question is…was it for love? Or something else?_ It was then I glanced over at Tony-who was too involved in his work to even notice that I was staring off into space at him.

I sighed as I was beginning to walk away when Tony's voice stopped me.

"What?"

"I said 'where are you going?'" Tony repeated.

"To my room-well your spare room" I tell him, he just nods slowly for some reason and just waves me away as if I need his permission to leave-please, spare me. I then whirled around, opened the glass door and left the basement, leaving Stark alone with his new suit. I then walked down the hallway to my bedroom, passing the water fountain and other extravagant pieces as I began to wonder once more about Tony's offer in being together.

_Should I say yes? Or leave him alone and somewhat hurt? ...no I could never do that…at least…not to him it's not right…I could never crush his heart…or my never ending love…I'm torn…_ I then turned the knob on my door and it slowly opened to my command, I let out a sigh, _Why do I have to be in love now of all times? And…it's a _huge_ age gap it's not even funny…But I now realize that I love him and I need to tell him soon…but how? And can I say it without stuttering?_ I shook my head from the second thoughts and lay on my bed for hours thinking of what the moment would be like and I kept picturing it as hell or depressing.

I opened my eyes to the dawn light while the sun was slowly rising outside my window while the sherbet reflected ocean waves crashed against the sand colored rocks of Malibu Beach. I then got up and got dressed and the other pointless but yet understandable shit, Once I had everything done I opened the door to my bedroom and left to go get some well-earned breakfast. I saw Thor eating a whole watermelon-or trying to eat a whole watermelon when I came in, I couldn't help but snort when I saw the picture but I left him to it-surely a god can figure out how to eat a melon? I'm sadly mistaken as Thor screams in anger and gets his hammer and busts it open as watermelon splatters everywhere in the mansion, including me, I then shout at him.

"What the hell Thor?" I shout as I wipe the melon off of my shirt, not much flew on me so I was good.

Thor looked like a little kid who was in big trouble as his blue eyes looked like puppy-dog-eyes.

"I'm sorry fair maiden"

"Fair maiden my ass" I hissed to myself as Thor went on.

"But I couldn't eat it"

"That's because you cut it open with a knife" I say, trying to contain another outburst of anger, Thor just nods in slow understanding, I then add a comment "You didn't have to be Gallagher" Thor just looks at me confused but just nods and begins to clean the watermelon off the white tiled floor. I then grudgingly helped him wash up the melon pieces and drained them in the sink after fifteen minutes of cleaning we were finally done, once I got up from my kneeling position I asked him.

"Why didn't you make your freaking Pop-Tarts?" Thor just shrugs and replies.

"I asked Man of Iron to get more that one night when he was with you but he still hasn't gotten them yet"

I just nod and let out an 'oh' and leave him to food scrounging as I go to Tony's room to remind him about the Pop-Tart situation. I knocked on his door I heard a muffled 'Come in' I then gingerly open the door and look up at him and to my embarrassment he was changing clothes but thankfully right when I opened the door he had just put on his pants, I tried to look unaffected by the awkward encounter-which on the inside I was freaking out. He was still waiting for me to say what I was doing here, I looked around nervously and a bit flustered as I finally told him my reason for coming.

"Thor told me you haven't bought the Pop-Tarts yet" I say, slurring on my words as my eyes wondered slightly, Tony smirked as he grabbed his shirt and slipped it on over his head.

"Well-tell him I'll get them; genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropists have better things to do than get Pop-Tarts" Tony complies as I just smile at him and nod and answer smugly.

"Of course Mr. Stark what was I thinking?"

Tony shoots me one of his signature smirks as he asks "I don't know Ms. Henderson what were you thinking?"

I was about to answer with a smug comment but then I paused, _did that have a double meaning? I think it did… _I just stared at him somewhat confused and muttered.

"I'm not sure"

Tony just shrugs and walks out of the room grabbing my hand and dragging me out of his room, while I shut the door behind us. He then drags me downstairs into the basement part of the Mansion as he shows me the gloves and begins showing me the weapon enhancements, it's cool believe me but…why the hell is he showing me this first thing in the morning? I was pretty far away from him since he was showing me some dangerous weapons but I walked over to him oblivious of what he was going to show me next as he shot a laser from his glove which he had aimed right at me since I was walking towards him, I then shut my eyes in panic as I heard something fall to the ground I opened my eyes to see what had happened I looked all over my body to see if he had amputated off anything, since I didn't see anything I turned on him.

"What the hell fell off my f-ing body?" I shout Tony's brown eyes were full of shock and worry as he disassembles his gloves and slowly walks over to me to show me what had fallen to the ground. I gaped as he held up a huge wad of dark brown hair; he had shot my hair off-I just stare at the long brown strands of hair that he was holding.

I whirl around and try to feel how much I had left, I still had some-but I needed a mirror, it was obviously short, I could feel that it was to the shoulders but I didn't know if there was any patches shot off-I couldn't feel any bare spots-thank god.

"You look good with short hair" was all Tony could say as he drops the wad of hair to the tiled ground, Tony then turns around and shouts.

"Hey Dummy-U, quit spacing out and put this in the garbage" I turn around to see who he was talking to and I saw a huge robot arm type thing, and remember him saying it was one of his science projects and he won first prize with it as well. I smile as I watch the robot roll over to where there hair was and it looked over at me with its three tiny camera eyes-I swear I think it's the cutest robot I have ever seen in my entire life, or it's just me and I think it's just me. When it was looking at me for a second the four medium sized metal fingers opened and closed quickly and it made a squeaking noise and bent over and picked up the hair and dumped it in the garbage, I couldn't help but giggle at it, it was cute.

Once Dummy-U put the hair in the trash Tony teased it and said.

"Finally you did something right for a change" Dummy-U just opened its metal fingers and let out a cry.

"Waa…"

I smiled at it and watched it roll around and go back to whatever it was doing before, Tony then looked at me funny as I shrugged.

"Sorry but I think it's cute" I tell him as he smirks at the comment.

"Dummy-U?" he asks to make sure that were on the same topic, I nod as he just shakes his head.

"Sorry about your hair" he apologizes, I shrug.

"It's okay, I actually don't mind it" I say, feeling the ends of my hair curl a little.

Tony looked relieved as he put his glove back on the suit in the display case; I then quit playing with my hair as I asked him.

"Hey why were you showing me all of your weapons?" I asked him, Tony just shrugs.

"I don't know, just thought it would be fun or something…"

"Oh"

"Yeah, bad idea right?" he asks as I just smile at him and give him a look.

"Maybe the great Tony Stark has some bad ideas" I comment Tony just smirks and goes back to his suit, once he put the gloves back on he left it in the case for the time being-I stared after him in a daze still considering his offer and when I should tell him my feelings.


	13. Chapter 13

**Hi! :) sorry if Chapter 12 was boring...but I've been sick these past few days XP so if this one isn't intresting sorry XC I'll try to do better in my sickened state :) so Christmas Break is coming to an end as school comes so these chapters will come less and less so sorry guys ;( So here you go! (REVIEW PLZZZZZZZzzzzzzz?)**

Chapter 13

I opened my eyes to the sight of my curtains slowly waving from the wind outside of the beach waves, I let out a yawn as I opened my eyes and stretched, I then drowsily looked around the room then something hit me, I drew in a breath-I quickly pushed the bed sheets off me and shouted.

"_Shit_!" I then grabbed my tablet off of my nightstand and typed in Natasha's name and decided to call her, it ringed a couple times then I heard Natasha's voice.

"Ali? What do you want?" Natasha asked, her voice sounded irritated and worried at the same time.

"Thor's here-he was with some Asgardians and wanted to know if Loki was here but we haven't seen him of course but-that must mean that he has already escaped-you haven't seen him around where you're at have you?" I asked her in one mouthful, it was quiet for a few seconds and I hear her say.

"Clint-have you seen anything on the news or heard anything about Loki?" _What's Clint doing with Natasha? Oh god…_

I heard Clint answer "No, I haven't seen or heard anything-why? Is there something going on in Malibu?"

"No, but that's the thing Thor wouldn't have come unless if Loki had broken out of Asgardian prison" I answer, I could just see Clint nodding in agreement grimly as he replied.

"I agree something's up in Asgard…" then Natasha got irritated and muttered.

"Okay, time to get me involved in this-speaker phone" After Natasha did that she began to set up a plan instantly.

"Okay, Ali-you've got to talk to Thor about what's going on in Asgard…why he's here"

I let out an agitated sigh and mumbled "I already did that when he first got here-me and Tony did that anyway"

I could just see Natasha grinning ear to ear as she replied "Okay great but this time not with your boyfriend"

I gritted my teeth which was pointless because she can't see it, I then heard Natasha laugh as she shouted.

"Got you!"

"Yeah great job Captain shit Sherlock" I scowled as I went back to the conversation "But Thor already said he had broken out of prison but he didn't say anything about the cube and you said it yourself before we left that he was out of prison and that he had the cube-so why ask him when we already know that?"

It was quiet for a long time till Natasha replied.

"Well…yes but…I just thought that he would have more information than what I had scraped up"

"Oh"

Then Clint began to ask me some questions.

"So when did he come here a few hours ago?"

I swallowed _actually he came many days ago…_ "Um...he came…many days ago-I forgot to give you guys an update I had…problems at hand…"

"What kind of problems?" Clint questioned angrily, I fidgeted.

"Nothing important"

"It must be important enough to interfere with our battle plans!" he shouted as I heard Natasha punch him.

"Calm down Clint" I heard Natasha mutter to him, Clint just grunted as Natasha began to speak up once again.

"It's okay Ali-we all make mistakes" I could picture her glaring at Clint with that comment as she went on "But anyway, you need to find out more as soon as possible, Thor is a strange one yes but you need to ask him some questions and find out about Loki"

I nodded in understanding her orders then remembered something.

"Oh Natasha?"

"Yeah?"

"Tony and Thor both agreed on you to-if we capture Loki to seduce him…to get info"

It was dead quiet for a few seconds; I then heard some whispers in Russian from Clint and Natasha, then I heard Natasha answer me in English this time.

"Of course"

"_What_?" Clint shouted "You're actually gonna seduce this bastard god of mischief!?"

"They don't call me a spy for nothing" she replied as she ended the call with a goodbye though I could still hear Clint forbidding her to kiss Loki.

I laughed as I shook my head and got up and changed clothes, brushed my frizzled hair and left the room quietly hoping not to disturb anyone. I then walked into the TV room of the house where the kitchen is and got an apple-there wasn't anything else. I took a huge bite of the apple and left the room, but stopped myself remembering my mission for today assigned by Natasha Romanov and Clint Barton; I rolled my eyes and threw my apple away and went down the staircase to ask Tony where Thor's room is at.

Once I made it to the bottom of the stairs I typed in my code on the holographic keys on the glass door and it popped open, I glanced over at the picture that I appeared when I typed in my code, it had me in my S.H.I.E.L.D uniform I smiled but then frowned in confusion _When did he have a picture of that?_ I shook my head and saw Tony cleaning up his workspace. He had on a black undershirt and jeans, he looked good-but I had other stuff to do than eye up a guy who's _way_ older than me, I cleared my throat once I was behind him-Tony turned at the sound and then got up from his previous position and smiled.

"What do you want Ms. Henderson?" He asked with a smirk, I rolled my eyes.

"Do you know where Thor's room is? I need to speak with him" I say firmly, Tony jerked his head back slightly.

"What business do you have with Thunder-Head?" he asked, somewhat curious-I could just see the curiosity flickering from his eyes as I answered.

"S.H.I.E.L.D business Tony, nothing more, now about his room…" I trail off hoping he would finally answer, and he did surprisingly.

"Alright, you have your orders-I'll show you his room, come on" he said grabbing my hand gently in his; I blushed a little while his firm grip was in my gentle one. He then took me up the staircase and went down the hallway, past the TV room, past another hallway and to the front of a door; he then made a motion like he would to a princess.

"There you go your majesty" he teased, I shoved him and smiled.

"Thank you Tony, I'll see you later" I tell him, but that wasn't good enough he stayed where he was, I glared at him.

"I said go" I repeat, he just chuckles.

"I know what you said, and I'm not moving my ass anywhere" he said crossing his arms and dipping his head down slightly, giving me an innocent look. I scowl at him and then knock on the door, knowing Tony he won't move his ass-just like he said, Thor then opens the door and claps his hand on my back which makes me cough, which only makes Tony burst into laughter. I glare at him as I quickly change my facial reaction from Tony from anger to complete kindness as I say.

"Hi Thor, I just wanted to ask you a few questions-if you don't mind" I say, looking into the oceanic blue eyes of his he just nods and booms.

"Yes of course Lady Ali, what do you want to know?" Thor asks, I just look at him grimly and reply.

"Loki-I want to know if he escaped Asgardian prison like you said and does he or does he not have the Tesseract, Thor?" Thor expression turned grim, instantly as he answered.

"Yes, he escaped Asgardian prison and I do not know if he has the Tesseract" Thor answered, his eyes looking dull and saddened, I gave him a small smile and gave him a quick hug, it was pretty awkward but then again it was unexpected as well so it makes sense. Once I let go of his muscular body I reminded him.

"It's okay Thor-some people…just need a second chance and I'm glad that you give your brother these chances…but I don't think he wants a chance to be good" I told him gently, Thor just nodded but didn't seem to look happier about his brother's path he took, I decided to leave him alone for the time being, I bid him farewell and let him shut the door behind him as I walked away brushing past Tony as he looked at me in a daze of shock and surprise, leaving him in the dust of the tiled mansion floor.

"Holy shit chips, Henderson" Tony spluttered, I turned around and gave him a confused look and turned my back to him again and walked forward.

"What Stark?" I asked; I could hear him walking closer to me as his voice sounded clearer.

"I've never seen anyone…be so…firm with a mission like that"

I gave him a quick glare as we both went down the hallway "That wasn't a mission smart-ass it was a…directive"

"Well whatever mission or directive you stick with the program…that's pretty admirable" he commented, I stopped and turned to him.

"What do you want from me Stark?" I asked him, he gave me a look.

"Nothing-just giving you a compliment" Tony affirmed with a smile, I just nodded slowly.

"Thank you" I tell him, moving my hair to one side with my finger "I just don't take compliments that easily because…I never was given compliments on stuff before so…it's good to get a compliment every once and awhile" I say, giving him a weak smile remembering my life once more-it's not the best memories I've ever had I'll tell you that, I always wished that I had a somewhat better life…but of course it's not possible.

He just gave me the same smile back "Your welcome" I looked at him for a second longer-then turned around and left him in the long, extravagant, dim lit, hallway of Stark Mansion. I walked down the hallway and opened my door and then gave it a quick push letting it shut instantly to my command, I then grabbed my tablet off my bed and called the spies once more and got my job done so then I could tell them what Thor had known.

I then typed in Natasha's name and tablet number then it began to call the master assassin it took a few minutes before it finally rang I then had to wait a few more minutes when Natasha then answered her tablet.

"Did you get the info?" Natasha asked, I jerked my head back slightly _wow she's goes right down to business…cool_

"Yup, Thor said he did break out of Asgardian prison and Thor doesn't know if Loki has the Tesseract or not" I informed her, it was quiet for a second till I heard Natasha ask Clint.

"You get that?"

"Yeah"

I then thought now would be a good time to ask Natasha why she was with Clint.

"Thanks for helping" Natasha said warmly I smiled.

"Anytime, say Nat?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you with Clint?"

It was quiet for a long time then I heard Natasha clear her throat as she answered.

"Me and Clint are here in Russia just…hanging out"

"…Yeah well anyway…" I trail off obviously not believing what she told me "See you guys at the battle…I guess…?"

I heard Natasha chuckle and Clint grunt.

"Right-see you Ali" Natasha said, then the tablet clicked and we were disconnected.

I then turned my tablet off and set it on my nightstand and changed into my PJ's and got into my bed and let sleep take me once more.

I opened my eyes to the light of the sunrise in Malibu Beach as I got up and got ready for the day, while I was brushing my hair I saw that I had an IM from Natasha-I raised my eyebrows at this and grabbed my tablet once I was done brushing through my hair, I then stared in horror at what my IM said before me.

**We have Loki captured in S.H.I.E.L.D's ship we need you, Tony and Thor to come in NOW! Natasha**

I quickly got out of the clothes I had just changed into and got my SHIELD uniform and quickly slipped into it as fast as I could and assembled my gloves and boots, while my gloves were being assembled I looked at the ceiling.

"Jarvis?"

It didn't take long for him to reply.

"Yes Ms. Ali"

"Tell Tony and Thor to suit up and meet me in my room we have to leave"

"Of course"

Once my gloves were done getting attached to my hands and fingers I then opened my door and waited in the entertainment room of the Mansion and waited for both of them to come, it took a few minutes till they both got there-the first person to show up was Thor, he had his hammer and flew down the hallway and made a crash landing in the center of the room, I just stared at him as he got up and panted.

"You…needed to…see…me?" Thor asked in a panting breath, I nodded.

"We have to wait for Tony" I told him firmly, Thor just nodded and looked very stern as we stood and waited for fifteen minutes, it was then I couldn't wait anymore I was already mad, and irritated I turned to Thor as I began to walk away.

"I'll be back"

I walked over to where the staircase was which wasn't far away from the entertainment room, I then flew down the steps and looked through the glass to look for Tony, nowhere to be found, I scowled at the ground as I flew up the staircase and down the hallway. I then went into my room and found him waiting; he was in his Iron Man suit as his mask lifted up to show his face, he looked at me in utter confusion.

"You said meet me in my room-did you not?"

I just bashfully nodded and then went back to the seriousness of the whole thing, as Tony asked me.

"So what's the problem?" I glared at him as I told him about the IM from Natasha, the mischief and fun was drained from Tony's eyes instantly as I told him that S.H.I.E.L.D had Loki, Toy then got up from the bed and flew down the hallway as I followed as we went to the entertainment room to meet Thor.

Thor then got up from the couch that he was sitting in and grabbed his hammer as he looked at us.

"I see you have found our friend, now are we ready to go?" Thor asked, I nodded as we burst through the already shattered windows and flew to the skies looking for S.H.I.E.L.D's ship.

We were flying for hours as we finally saw a ship come into view, it was pretty obvious that it was SHIELD's because it had the eagle on it like on my shoulder patches of my uniform. I glanced at Tony whose mask was aimed straight for the ship indicating that he saw it; I then gained speed as I was coming closer to the ship there was small ships on the ship it was like an air-craft carrier basically, I then was on top of the ship as I made a safe landing, I then turned when I saw Tony land along with Thor and his precious hammer. I scanned the area as I saw the S.H.I.E.L.D agents on the ship walking around and doing target practice along with some who were just standing guard waiting for members of S.H.I.E.L.D to come in.

I walked over to the door which lets us inside S.H.I.E.L.D's headquarters the guard lets us in as we walk inside and take our seats in the control room to wait for Fury; Tony took his seat on the far right while I sat next to him while Thor just stood waiting for Fury. I glanced at Tony while he got out of his Iron Man suit, he looked worried for moment till he noticed that I was staring at him, he lets the suit go into briefcase mode and sits back down with the suitcase close to him.

"It'll be okay Tony" I soothe, the billionaire just gives me a look as if to say _you have no idea what you're talking about_. I just give him a quick smile as I see Steve walk into the room in his Captain America uniform, Tony took this as an opportunity to tease him as he comments.

"Well looks like Spangles decided to wear his costume"

Steve just glares at him and scowls.

"Were here on business Tony, of course I'm wearing my uniform"

Tony opened his mouth to say something when I cut in.

"Alright you two shut up, and be quiet thank you" I say with a smirk on my face as I lean back into my chair as I see Natasha come in along with Clint, then Bruce and Amelia walk in. Natasha was in her S.H.I.E.L.D uniform same with Clint while Bruce was just wearing a purple shirt with tan pants and Amelia was wearing her war uniform that S.H.I.E.L.D gave her. Amelia's uniform is dark green-gray with four pale brown straps on the front which in the front holds timed mines while on the back holds a sword, and then on the pants of the uniform has a belt filled with war knives and more bombs and mines.

Tony just let out a low whistle at all of the weapons on Amelia's uniform, Amelia just rolled her eyes at him and bopped him on the head while Tony whined in complain.

I rolled my eyes at their little kerfuffle and muttered "Where's Fury?" I jumped at the voice behind me.

"I'm right here" Fury's voice boomed from behind which scared the shit out of me as he went on.

"So Agent Romanov you and Clint successfully captured Loki-correct?" Fury asked the assassin, the red-head just nodded as Fury walked around the table once again.

"Now, we need two agents to watch him, undercover of course" Fury ordered, looking at me, Clint and Natasha, I gave Natasha a looked of distaste as she quickly offered to help and so did Clint, I'm not good at stealthy missions although I'm told I'm good at them which I don't see how I am in any way. Once they got up and left to do there spying an interrogating Fury then assigned us to our regular duties, Bruce and Tony go and work on the signature of the Tesseract. Steve goes and guards the front door of the cage that is holding Loki, while I go and do my regular walk around the place making sure everything is okay, while Amelia helps Steve with the guarding, While Thor talks to Fury and other S.H.I.E.L.D agents to get more info on the problem.

I sighed and got up and left the room going to the lab part of the ship to be with Tony and Bruce to see if I could be any help which I know I won't be any help but what the hell. I got to the front of the door and punched in my code and walked inside, Bruce was sliding some bars on the touch screen computer while Tony was typing and swiping some stuff on the computer and the computer off to the far right of room was searching for the Tesseract to see if Loki has any workers hiding it somewhere.

I was about to ask if they wanted any help but the Science Brothers seem to have a grasp on this pretty well, I decided to leave them alone and let them work since I wouldn't be any help anyway, once I opened the door and left I went into the hallway and checked on Amelia and Steve who were staring straight ahead not even giving me the time of day though Amelia seemed to be new to this because she was already talking to me while Steve was standing completely still.

"Hey!" squealed Amelia as she gave me a quick hug "How was your family?"

I paused in confusion "My family?"

"Yeah, you went home didn't you?" Amelia asked puzzled, I just stared at her.

"No I didn't I went to Malibu with Tony to be his _assistant_" I informed her, Amelia just nodded at the way I said assistant and went on talking.

"So what was Malibu like?" Amelia asked, I just shrugged.

"Even though the beaches are kick-ass pretty boring really" I said, Amelia just looked at me disbelievingly.

"I don't believe that, beaches, the waves the sun…I'm sure you went to the beach sometime while you were there" Amelia complied, I just shook my head.

"No we-I mean _I_ never went to the beach" I stumbled, looking at the ground, and then a question came to mind as I looked at her.

"You didn't go to Cal Ceuta with Bruce?" I asked, Amelia shook her head.

"No, I'm not good with medicines and stuff, but it's good to see him again" Amelia said with a smile, I just nod and glance at Steve who looked somewhat irritated at us talking and disrupting his watch, I bit my lip.

"I'll see you guys later" I say as I depart from the super solider and the angel on the ship, I then walk over to the control room and sit there for awhile since I honestly had nothing to do. I twirled around in the spinney chairs and waited a few minutes before setting off on the pointless checking around the ship, and then I got up once more and went back to my daily checking of the Avengers.

This went on for hours-me checking up on each Avenger other than Natasha and Clint since they had to stay in hiding and wouldn't want to be disturbed. Once I had done the walk around for the fifth time, I became irritated that I had this job-it was completely pointless, so I decided to go to the lab and take a quick nap on the desk, since we don't have bedrooms on the ship period-or that's my understanding of it anyway.

I punched in my code and opened the door and already Tony and Bruce were relaxing in their seats when I stepped in the room, Tony was sitting on the desk and had his legs sprawled out while Bruce was just calmly talking to the billionaire about some bio chemistry crap. I made a bee-line to the nearest desk and sat down in it and rested my head on the table, I was tired already and I had only been here for forty five minutes, I glanced up when I thought I heard Tony say my name when my eyes flickered up in that direction his voice got quieter, I glared at him.

"What?" I growl, Tony just snickers and keeps talking to Bruce obviously about something I did, I give him a death glare and slam my head against the desk and try to make my good hearing to good use but sadly I could only pick up bits and pieces that didn't help me figure out what he was talking about. I shake my head on the desk and look up quickly and see a wavy strand of my hair fall in front of my face I blow it out of the way and look at Bruce who was grinning from ear to ear at Tony's comment obviously I rolled my eyes at them and slammed my head against the desk once more.

I woke up to the beeps and clinks of technology in S.H.E.I.L.D's lab center I rolled my eyes around the room and saw that Tony and Bruce weren't relaxing again they were back to work once more, I rubbed my cheek against the marble top of the desk and looked at the holographic screens in the room that the Science Brothers had brought up.

I drowsily looked at what Tony had on his computer, I just yawned when I saw that it was of Fury's secret reports I just shrugged and shut my eyes slowly, _wait…what!?_ I quickly jerked my head up from my desk and looked at what he had on the holographic screen, I was instantly on my feet and sprinted over to the screen and swiped my finger down on the information and glared at Tony who hadn't even noticed that I was up.

"What are you doing Tony?" I scowled, I whipped my head around when I heard Bruce let out a nervous cough, I then whipped my head back around to him, my short hair tickling my neck when it spun back in the direction when I turned. Tony just stared at me calmly and shrugged.

"Just finding out some secrets about our dear friend Fury-why what's wrong Agent Henderson?" Tony jeered, I glared at him and gritted my teeth, indicating that I was pissed off.

"You know damn well what's wrong you bastard-you stealing all of these secret files" I hiss, Tony just smiles and turns the screen back to him while he reads off everything that's compromised, I was tempted to kick him in the nuts but…I didn't and I still don't know why I didn't.

"I would like to call it _sharing_ not _stealing_" Tony retorted and went back to reading as I quickly swiped my finger across the screen making the information go off the screen, if I went off to tell Fury, Tony would most likely make it look like I did it which would kill me, so I'm trapped.

"I'd like to call it being a pain in the ass" I counter quickly minimizing the information every time Tony brought it up to satisfy himself. I kept my eyes on his, glaring at him making it hard for him to look me in the eye, occasionally Tony would glance over at something else because of the intensity in my gaze.

"Fine" he muttered as he dragged the information over to the recycle bin, I roll my eyes-knowing that, that doesn't fully delete it for a short amount of time, he must take me for some idiotic girl. But I left it at that I glared at him once more and walked back over to Bruce who was looked quite amused at our argument and quickly went back to the screen and adjusted the bars on the screen showing radiation intensity.

"So how was things at your place?" I ask Bruce casually casting one more angry glance at Tony before calming down. Bruce just nervously glanced at me and replied.

"It was fine, everyone needed looking after and the other guy didn't interfere" Bruce answered calmly, I smiled _I see Bruce is still his quiet and nervous self…he hasn't changed even though it hasn't been that long…_

"That's good, I'm glad he didn't interfere" I commented, Bruce just nodded and went back to the radiation calculations, I then turned around and went back to my chair and saw Tony looking back at the private information, I let my brown eyes go to slits as I saw him looking at the information, when I walked by him I slapped the back of his head.

"_Ow_" Tony whined as I just snickered and minimized the information again, Tony let out an agitated sigh and went back to work, as I sat on the desk and kept an eye on him-someone's got to do it, and it looks like I'm the one.

After hours of keeping an eye on the billionaire I began to get tired of babysitting him, my eyes were slowly beginning to droop till I heard Fury's voice on the intercom.

"_Avengers go to the control room now_" I let out a loud moan and got off the desk and walked out of the room, with the nerds following.

I then disassembled my gloves but left my boots on while I was walking down the hallway, and went into the room and sat in my assigned seat next to Tony, Fury wasn't there for some reason but Agent Maria Hill was, she was glaring at each of us-but even though her stare was unnerving you could see a flicker of warmth in those blue-green eyes of hers as she watched us, she had her hands behind her back and her legs shoulder width apart as she stood there.

"Hill" I said, she jerked her head up toward the voice.

"What are we doing?" I asked, Maria just smiled and nodded her head toward the glass table, I looked down and saw a video of Fury and a man, I never seen him before but he did look familiar, he had long black hair to the shoulders somewhat spiked, with blue eyes and dark green medieval clothes with some pieces of gold attached to it, making him look like a ruler of some land.

"Welcome back Loki" Fury muttered, his voice dripping in anger, I flinched-_this_ was Loki? The scary ruler who made Tony break down? I don't get it…what's so bad about him? I then noticed that Loki's apparel was torn and bloody, I looked-wide eyed at his clothing, what _had_ happened to him? But I then focused on the conversation taking place between the two of them.

Loki just smirked at him and observed him with those amazing blue eyes of his, Fury just gave him an evil glare and went on.

"What do you want the Tesseract for this time?"

"Power" Loki purred "_Unlimited _power, something that I've always wanted in my adolescence"

I rolled my eyes; _if you wanted it you should've been nice to your brother…_

Fury just glared at him once more and muttered "Yeah well tell me when Power wants to talk to his brother" and with that Fury left, Loki then looked at the cameras and the video feed faded leaving the blue eyed man alone in the cage.

"What a nice man" I teased as I looked back up at the Avengers who just smirked in reply as Tony just snickered, I looked at Natasha and asked her.

"Did Loki say or do anything that would help us figure out what he wants?-Other than the Tesseract of course"

Natasha just shook her head; same with Hawkeye he just shrugged and shook his head.

"Nothing at all, he's keeping quiet this time" Clint murmured, I glanced at Tony when I saw him grin.

"Now might be a good time to seduce him" Tony offered to Natasha who just gave him a sickening look, and then Amelia brought up something that made me embarrassed.

"Why can't Ali do it? Loki has never seen her or even knows who she is…maybe he would fall for her" I glare at Amelia when she pointed that out, but Amelia didn't care as long as she threw me out in the spotlight it didn't make any difference to her as long as she wasn't in the problem.

"Same with you" I scowl, Amelia shuffles uncomfortably and glances at Natasha who just shakes her head, as if to say _don't even bring it up_.

"Yeah" Tony said with a smile, I glared at him _he wouldn't enjoy it if I said yes to seduce him…_

"No" I scowl, Tony just gives me a confused look but looks happy that I was annoyed at his idea.

"No one is seducing Loki" Fury shouted, interrupting our conversation, walking into the room as I shift uncomfortably as he passes by me, I watch him as he discusses the problem.

"Now, how are we gonna make him talk?" Fury asked, looking at all of us, he glares at Tony when he opens his mouth and interrupts the playboy.

"Seducing is not an option" Fury growls as Tony just huffs in annoyance, as I just giggle silently to myself.

"How about…just outsmart him into telling us?" I offer, the idea seems to flicker in everyone's eyes when I suggested it I then lean back and throw my hands up in the air "Now I'm not good at outsmarting" I reminded them.

"I'll do it" Natasha offered, Fury gives her a look of confusion she shrugs.

"What? If I did it once I can do it again" She says calmly, she then gets comfortable in her seat "I'll do it soon"

"Okay so that's settled, Romanov will outsmart Loki while we all go back to our duties" Fury orders as we all leave the room. I followed Bruce and Tony and stalked them into the lab and sat on the desk and kept a tired eye on Tony once more to make sure he doesn't spy on Fury's secret files.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey! new chapter! :D so...more reviews? thanks for the one person who did though thank you 3 i love hearing what you guys think! dont worry if you have some critisism! its fine! anyway in this Chapter there some Loki stuff...so you crazy peeps who love Loki might somewhat enjoy this chapter or want to rip out his heart either way...ENJOY!~**

Chapter 14

Our working hours were long and tiresome as I was literally dragging my body everywhere-since we didn't have any beds we had to stay up all the time, I never understood how Tony and Bruce were always so up and awake all the time but what the hell do I know about Science Brothers? I helped Tony with some stuff that I remembered from Biology class but other than that I was obviously no help at all in the lab whatsoever I just enjoyed there company. While I was sitting in my spinney chair I asked the two Science Boys a question that had been daunting me ever since I saw Loki on the video feed on the table.

"What's so bad about Loki? He doesn't look like a threat" I asked, Tony froze from his work while Bruce just looked nervously at his friend; I shuffle uncomfortably in my chair and mutter.

"Dumb question huh?"

Tony snickers and mumbles "You have no idea"

Bruce nods in agreement and takes off his glasses.

"Ali"

I lift my head up from embarrassment and looked up at the Doctor he looked bashful to be the semi-center of attention but he fought his fear and kept going.

"This man killed eighty people in two days"

I swallowed; _yeah I was right dumb question…_ Bruce just looked upset as he went on.

"And last time he was here his plan was to make me…the other guy come out and destroy everything in sight here…he succeeded…" Bruce just looked in a daze as he stared at the ground "I almost killed Natasha and…I didn't mean to it was the other guys fault…"

I looked at him upset I felt some tears coming on but I held them back like the strong person I am, I glanced at Tony who was looking at his friend in sorrow and confusion, when Bruce was looking down I mouthed at Tony 'Do something!' Tony just shrugged and made a weird face and mouthed 'I don't know what the hell to do!' I walked over to him and gave him a tiny hug, I heard Tony let out a snort of disapproval-I glowered at him and went back to Bruce.

"It's okay Bruce we all make mistakes and I'm sure you have better control over the other guy better than you think" I say looking at him as he looked up at me, he just gave me a weak smile and walked out of my arms and left the room leaving me and Tony alone in the lab, I stared after Bruce. _He probably wants some time alone from the horrible memories of the past with him and…the 'other guy'_ I then turned to Tony in confusion.

"Why didn't you want me to hug him? It was all I could think of" I snap, Tony just lets out a chuckle and walks over to his respective computer, I just turn on him in anger.

"_What_?" I shout, he just shrugs and mutters.

"I just thought that a hug was a bit much…"

I stared at him stunned _Oh my God he's jealous-him of all people good lord what's going on in hell? _I let out an irritated laugh.

"Oh my freaking God your jealous aren't you?" Tony just looks at me, surprise flickering in those golden brown eyes for only a second as the go back to irritation.

"Well admit it The Big Guy is pretty attractive" Tony comments as he types in some things on the computer.

"Tony-honestly get it in your head, _I'm the one your with_-you know that I _care _about_ you_ now can you shut up because you're driving me crazy!"

Tony just stared at me during the stunned silence as I froze after a few seconds, _Did I? ….oh God I did…well not really but hinted it shit…_

"Did you just say…?"

"No" I interrupt him, Tony just smirks and points at me.

"Yes you did, you just said it dumb-ass!" Tony teased; I let out an irritated noise and left the room in a daze of confusion and love as I quickly sprinted down the hallway to check on everyone.

* * *

Stars began to appear in the sky as the clouds cleared and the Avengers were in the SHIELD's ship, Ali was sitting on her lab desk fiddling with a gear for one of Tony's crazy ideas for a machine, I had gone on my long pointless walk to think things over and it didn't help at all, I began to watch Tony in a daze working on his machine of some kind. _I wonder if Tony came up with machines like this when he was a kid…most likely just not as in-depth as most…_ Then my earpiece interrupted my thoughts as I heard voices over voices.

"Ali I need you and Tony in the detention level-bring Amelia as well" It was Natasha, I quickly got up and grabbed Tony's arm and dragged him out of the room while he was whining and asking me what the hell was going on.

"It was Natasha, she needs us in the detention level" I tell him, I glared at him when he jerked his arm out of my tight grasp, he gave me an even harder glare, I flinched.

"You don't have to drag me fifty floors down you know I have legs-I can walk" I teases, I shove him and run down the long flight of stairs, while Tony calmly walks down the steps, I whirl around and wait for him to come as he walks down to meet me.

"Why are you walking so slow?" I ask him, Tony just shrugs.

"I prefer to be fashionably late" Tony stated, I rolled my eyes and grabbed his arm again.

"The hell with your legs I'm dragging you to the detention level" I snap as I dragged him down fifty flights of stairs, it took us about thirteen minutes to do so, it would've taken longer if Tony had chosen to be 'fashionably late' Natasha was standing next to Amelia looking grim when me and Tony came in, but of course when we both came in Natasha had to throw a joke out there when I came in holding his hand instead of his arm.

"Aw-look at the two love birds holding hands" Natasha teased blandly as I blushed and quickly let go of his hand, Amelia let out a snort then covered her mouth as Natasha glared at her and informed us of why she called us down here, _It better be good too…sending me down fifty flights of stairs with Tony! You'd better have a good explanation for this…_

"Loki gave me some information that I sneaked out of his dick-wad mouth of his…he's going to try and use his scepter-which I don't know how because he doesn't have it-to control our minds…like he did to Clint…" Natasha bit her lip and fought back some tears as she looked at me; I gave her a weak smile.

"Well don't worry Nat" I tell her "He can't do it for one-he doesn't have the scepter, so were fine"

I heard Tony let out a huff of annoyance "If only it were that simple-Ali you have no idea what you're talking about"

"I never do apparently" I mutter under my breath, with a glare at Tony before going back to the conversation.

"So we'll have to keep an eye on Loki…we'll have to take shifts…" Natasha ordered, she then raised her head up slightly "I'll take the first watch"

I nodded firmly "I…I guess I'll take the second"

Then Tony cut in "And I'll take it with her"

I was glad that he decided to take it with me but…I want to look strong-not like a weak girl… I just gave him a look and turned back to Natasha, who looked somewhat angered at the idea but shrugged it off, she then turned to Amelia who looked isolated from the entire conversation.

"Uh…I'll take the next one I guess" she mutters, I just give her a tense nod and then leave with the rest of the gang trailing behind me, but Tony grabs my arm and pulls me to the resting part of the stairway I glare at him while Natasha and Amelia look at us confused.

"We'll meet you guys upstairs" he says firmly as Natasha and Amelia look at each other and shrug and head back up to the top of the stairs, Tony then looks me in the eyes and gives me a look of irritation though the mischief in his eyes never wavered.

"What's up with you?" Tony asked, I just glared at him as I jerked my arm out of his grasp.

"I don't know what you're talking about" I say, and it's true I honestly have no idea what he's talking about, Tony just huffs and scowls.

"Really?-you don't? I'm talking about how you've been acting lately like you're a…" he pauses for a moment trying to process a word to fill in his sentence as I fill it in for him.

"An agent?" I ask, Tony just nods.

"Mm-hmmm"

I just narrow my eyes and roll them once again as I hiss "That's my occupation you know being an agent is kinda the reason why I joined the Avengers dumb-ass" Tony just tightens his lips together forming a hard line indicating that he was irritable, I crossed my arms and observed him for a minute my eyes flickering to his feet, to his middle, then to his face.

"You done?" I ask, sounding like a bitchy prep with a shrilly irritable voice.

Tony looked like he was about to object but he stopped himself; he let out a sigh through his nose and muttered.

"Fine-go"

For some reason it made me irritated that he let me go, I let out an exasperated sigh and brushed passed him, I then gaped at his last comment.

"But I liked the Ali that I kissed that day-not the agent"

I stared at him-not knowing what to say, Tony just lets out a muffled huff and shoulders past me, leaving me on the stair way alone.

* * *

Hours had passed since my last conversation with Tony, I was still irritable-and I still don't understand why I'm being such a bitch to Tony-but nice to everyone else. I was sitting on a metal chair in the engineering room watching him work, with the occasional handing Tony random wrenches, nuts, and bolts-which seemed to calm me down but not as much as sketching-the one thing that brought my mind to peace, unless if it was one of those days where you can't sketch a single limb of an animal then it was total hell for you and everyone else around you. I was still wearing my S.H.I.E.L.D uniform while Tony on the other hand brought some clothes with him the lucky bastard, he was wearing yet another black undershirt which…made my eyes wander occasionally, which is something else that is humiliating to admit to but it's true, my eyes did wander at times-and with that he wore some black pants that fit him rather…nicely and by nice I mean rather sliming…it was then I was broken out of my eye wandering by Tony's voice.

"Hey-Sketches, the gear" he said, all I could see was his waist down, but I could see some of his chest from his arc reactor light, and an extended hand waiting for me to drop the gear, the thing he was working on was like a…engine of some sorts, but I honestly don't give a damn about this shit, I gingerly dropped the single silver gear in his tight, secure grip as his hand slipped under the engine to make magic on the machinery.

"So…what is this exactly?" I asked him, trying to forget our recent conversation but quite honestly, whenever I talked to him even more it made our friendship…with benefits-I might add-worse, I mean don't get me wrong I enjoy talking to him, just to hear his voice makes me feel better but…right now ever since he implied that I had changed my personality since I'm an agent made me see things in a different light. But I tried to make the best of it and tried to think of how I could sew up our broken seams in our 'relationship' I then let my ears listen to what he was explaining which honestly didn't make sense in my 3.0 GPA head.

"It's…basically something for S.H.I.E.L.D's engine on the ship" he broke down for me, which made me feel better, so then I could at least have a sense of what he was working on but not feel like an idiot.

"Oh-I'm sure Fury appreciates it…" I say, looking down sadly at the ground, while Tony-knowing very well why I was moping just wiped his hands with an oil stained rag that was placed on a table behind me, Tony then moved some items on the table and took a seat on the table and decided to have a talk about his comment a few hours ago, but to be honest it would just make me feel worse, our-_relationship_-was just mainly…understanding, talk, kiss, and then the occasional sex, which was honestly self loathing.

"Look…Ali-about what I said a few hours ago"

"Go suck a dick-Stark"

"I'm sorry but…you have to-"Tony was interrupted by our earpieces going off once more by Natasha's voice.

"Hey-Lovebirds it's your turn to watch the God of Mischief" Natasha ordered, the device then clicked in our ears and the call was disconnected-for now, I then let out a sigh and groggily got up from my seat and went up the long-and I mean _long_ flight of stairs to keep an eye on Loki, with Tony trailing behind me.

I punched in my code into S.H.I.E.L.D's security system and was allowed entrance instantly; once I got inside I saw Loki sitting on a bench, eyeing Natasha warily as me and Tony came into the room. Natasha then let out a sigh of relief as she walked over to us.

"Thank God you came-I don't want to look at this bastard any longer" she mutters, she was about to leave when she paused for a moment and took a step backward to whisper in my ear.

"Ali-since you're new to this a word of advice _do not talk to him_-and if you do-_do not give away anything_-understood?" her jade green eyes were piercing as I swallowed and firmly nodded.

"Affirmative"

Natasha gave me another tense nod and left the room while the door closed automatically behind her, I then turned around and saw that Tony had his eyes glued to the glass cage that Loki was imprisoned in, I slowly walked towards the billionaire, as I was walking over to Tony I glanced at Loki-he had his full attention on me, as if I was his circus clown ready to do an act for this bastard.

"Who are you?" Loki murmured.

I stiffened; I wasn't expecting him asking a question about me-even if it was a simple question, I just swallowed and narrowed my eyes.

"Like you need to know" I scowled, knowing I had broken Natasha's rule.

"I believe in knowing my enemy" Loki purred, I just let out a grunt and then glanced at Tony who looked as if he was about to kill him, I almost laughed- _He's so protective of me…_

"Shut your ass Loki we didn't come here to have formal conversation" Tony growled, I just turned my back to Loki and stared at the dark gray walls, but Loki wasn't giving up on finding out about me.

"You're one of S.H.I.E.L.D's little servants are you not?"

I just kept my back to him, I was pretty good at ignoring people, I did it a lot in school-most kids would talk to me just to make fun of the way I responded, so I hardly said a word in school-only to my friends who then abandoned me years later, we still haven't seen each other since the horrible graduation party that we threw years ago. I could still remember that day, it was summer-of course that's when graduation always is held in-the summer, all my friends had planned to see a certain movie as their graduation party and we did just that-we went to see a movie and it was great, better than I had thought it would be, we ranted about it hours after it was over and had a slumber party at my best friend's house-it was then of course everything went to hell.

I was sitting next to my best friend Samantha she had her light brown hair in a long braid, she was the funny and friendly girl of the group you need a laugh she's your girl-she has a guy that she's been seeing and had asked him to homecoming years ago and then after that he asked her out, then next to Samantha was Lynn her blonde hair was down and had a flower beret in her hair her blue/green eyes looking friendly and happy as usual-Lynn was the giggly girl of our circle of friends she could laugh at anything she can always make you feel good inside when you see her happy, she also-was seeing someone as well, they met one day at school he was the new kid she-at first was very shy with him but then he asked her to homecoming the same year that Samantha went with her boyfriend and then a few days after they were a couple, and inseparable. Then sitting next to Lynn was Sam she was the intelligent one of our group, however she was also very clumsy and ditzy which made her fun to be around, her dark brown curly hair was straightened today-seeing how this was a special occasion for her, she had been going out with a boy from a different school for at least two years now she always was texting him on someone's phone till she got her own. Then sitting next to her was Ellie she was the…moody one of the group she could be nice one second then a bitchy spoiled little girl the next she was like a viper-you never know when she was going to strike. Ellie has had many boyfriends, but she's been with one for a few years now but he's in college right now so she doesn't see him often. And then you come back to me, I was the quiet one of the group-I could talk, I'm not a mute I was quiet a lot in my school years it was just natural for me not to talk and unnatural for me to talk a lot, but after awhile I warmed up to the people I was around more often than most. But I'm the sarcastic one of the group I always had a funny comment for everything-but I also had a very fiery temper that my friends never saw…till now.

They were talking about their boyfriends the whole time which pissed me off some but I just smiled and laughed at the funny things that they told me about while I was trying to hold back the bitchy comments that arouse from my mouth, I then tightened my grip on Samantha's bed sheets when Lynn asked me a question.

"Ali…how come you've never had a boyfriend?"

I held back my irritation and rage as I just let out a nervous chuckle and answered her with a random mad glance.

"I'm just the last person anyone ever wants to be with" I answer, and its true nobody gives a damn about my fiddly ass problems, and nobody would ever care to lend an ear.

"I don't believe that" said Lynn; I then glared at Ellie who just shared an amused glance at Sam while she took a sip of her Mellow Yellow.

"What?" I growled at Ellie, I saw Samantha who gave Lynn a surprised glance at how my tone sounded, Ellie just pursed her lips, Ellie has had many boyfriends one when she was too young but when they 'broke up' she would never leave him alone and even the boy was telling me how he wanted her to back off.

"Nothing…it's just with that attitude you're never going to have someone"

I glared at her and let out an evil chuckle "Really?" Ellie just looked at me confused this time.

"What?"

"I'm sorry _you're_ the one with the good attitude?" I countered; Samantha glanced at Lynn again and tried to relive the tension.

"Woo…tension" she said in a funny voice as Lynn let out a nervous laugh, hoping that we would laugh along with them forgetting the fight and going back to being friends, not this time.

"You've always been mad at us for not getting what you want" I say slamming my Sprite can on Samantha's nightstand, Ellie just glared at me.

"Like what?" she asked, _as if she doesn't know…_

"Like Sam's brother" Sam's brother was who she 'dated' when she was eight, she thought that they were great together-please they were _eight_, how on the name of hell are you going to _go out_? And be able to form a relationship?

"What of it?" Ellie asked, still wanting my rage to come out, she's always wanted this-or at least that's what I think she's been waiting for, for years. I was positive that she would bring up that I had a crush on Sam's brother Dan, but I always said that I did but it was years ago-and it was, but I realized years later that if anyone asked me something about him to the affect of why do you care, it would come out in my head that…I would have some small feelings for him, so I would tread carefully on that topic.

"_You never had a relationship, you were eight let the poor man go!_"

Ellie just chuckled and asked "Is this because you like Dan again?" she countered, hope sparking in her eyes, and the truth was I will always defend him, because we've known each other for awhile, he probably wouldn't do the same with me but that's just my nature, and I'm sure that's what she's expecting.

"No, I don't like him" which was true I don't like him like that I will always have small feelings for him but I doubt they will grow "But I'm sure as hell that you do"

My friends gaped at me saying hell, because I was never allowed to say bad words for I was breaking the rules of Christ, which made me feel horrible, but also felt good to let out my rage and anger with Ellie-it will always keep burning regardless, I will be nice to her when she's nice to me, but however if she wants a fight I'll give her a damn good one.

"_Oh_…is goodie two shoes finally getting _bad_?" Ellie jeered, I almost cried when I saw that my friends were defending her by laughing at her joke or snorting.

I just got up and shook my head "Your damn right, Ellie-But I only speak the truth" I tell her, and I do unless if I have a secret, I always speak my mind.

"And you're a bitchy spoiled little girl who blames everyone for her problems instead of just looking in the mirror" I state blandly, I just glare down at her clenching my fists, Ellie just fake cries while Sam just tries to comfort her I roll my eyes.

"I can't believe you guys are defending her I thought you guys liked me-I thought I had friends who looked out for me, but I guess I was wrong" I say with a disappointed glance at my best friend Samantha who was the first to laugh at Ellie's joke.

I just gave them one final look around and say my last words to them "Screw you guys" I just left my best friend's house feeling tears coming on as I left the house saying goodbye to Samantha's mom and leaving her house for the last time, I never saw them again, I never got texts from them again, and they never called me again.

I then went back to reality as I realized that a single tear was streaming down my face, I then gasped at Loki's comment.

"Your friends weren't much help to you were they Ali?"

I whirled around, stunned, Tony instantly put his arms around me as I felt more tears coming on as I cried into his shoulder, remembering what happened, I didn't mean to leave my friends behind but they didn't defend me and Samantha agreed with me she didn't think that Ellie should be so angry with us at such bitchy shit.

"What did you do to her Loki?" Tony demanded as I kept crying into his shoulder, I then felt Tony's hand rubbing up and down on my back and gently patting it.

"Nothing-just finding out about your _friend_" Loki jeered, the way he said friend was a bit troubling, I felt Tony grip tighten on my back as he growled.

"Damn you Loki"

Loki just let out a throaty chuckle as Tony's hand got off my back and touched his earpiece and called Natasha, I looked up at him, my brown eyes never leaving his, I'm sure my eye lashes looked darker from the tears, my nose was probably red as it usually is when I cry, Tony just told Natasha that she should probably take watch once more before Amelia.

Tony then quickly but gently led me out of the room, standing outside of the door he set me outside and put his hands gently on my shoulders.

"Look I have to stay in there and watch him till Natasha comes but once she comes I'll be right back okay?"

I just nodded and he let go of my shoulders and slipped into the room to watch Loki, and probably interrogate him.

I just put a fist under my lips, I couldn't help but sob and remember the memories me and my friends shared and now I have to forget them now realizing that they never gave a damn. A few minutes later Natasha came the agent glanced at me worryingly but didn't ask questions which I was thankful for, then once she slipped in Tony quickly came out and then I ran back into his strong arms, he just rocked my slowly as I cried.

"What happened?" Tony asked me, I just sobbed a few more seconds before answering him.

"He-he must've read my memories" I sobbed hiccupping in the middle of the answer, Tony just pulled me back a little to look at my face, his eyes looked haunted and worried, I just looked at him confused as the tears came less and less.

"Why do you worry about me?" I asked him, feeling a few more tears sliding down my face, he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and wiped a tear off my cheek and kept his hand there, looked into his eyes again and our eyes locked once more, I swear our eyes can't look at each other's without locking.

"Because I care about you" Tony answered, I just looked back down at the metal flooring of the ship till my concentration was interrupted by Tony's lips, I moved my arms up to his neck as he kissed me, I needed this…I need someone to take away the pain that I've been suffering for so long, it was exactly what I needed. Tony's hands were on my hips as he deepened the kiss, but I blushed as I realized that were on S.H.I.E.L.D's ship…were supposed to be on duty not having a make out session…however…who gives a damn? I then pulled him closer as we broke away for a second to breathe and then went back to our lips, after a few minutes of kissing we both finally broke away.

I looked into his eyes once more and smiled, I needed that…, But I couldn't exactly say 'thank you for kissing me' it's not exactly what you want to hear after a kiss, but Tony just smirked and asked.

"Feel better now?" I just giggled and nodded, he just smiled back.

"Good" and gave me one more quick kiss on the lips and then we walked off down into the engineering room.

* * *

After the Loki thing and the kiss I had completely forgotten what me and Tony had been fighting about-well I mean I do but it seems so ridiculous now, I watched him as Tony was putting the finishing touches on the engine, I let out a bored sigh, it was then I realized how tired I was how could everyone stand _not_ sleeping? It's insane! I was about to ask Tony the question when he asked _me_ a question about the _engine_, how the hell should I know?

I just looked at him and smirked "How the hell should I know? Do I _look_ like a mechanic or a friggin genius?"

His eyes flickered in mischief as he replied "You look like you need another kiss" I blushed as I heard how seductively he made his voice sound with that comment, I just shook my head.

"This ship doesn't have bedroom's dumb-ass" I snap somewhat lovingly as I get up from the chair and walk over to him, Tony just gave me a look of confusion.

"Who said there weren't bedrooms here?" he questioned, I cocked my head.

"I thought that Fury said there aren't any bedrooms here" I told him, he just smirks.

"Fury tells you a lot of things"

"He probably told me that ever since the video feed-he thought we would get too frisky I'm guessing"

Tony chuckled "Too _frisky_? What are we? _Cats_?"

I just shrugged "Well…" I wasn't the best at making awkward comments "We don't sound like em' when we…you know"

Tony just smirked again "You're getting there with the sexual comments" he teased, I shoved him.

"Thanks-I guess"

"You're welcome Ms. Henderson" he teased, I couldn't help but smile at that, were never going to quit playing this game.

I gave him a wink and was about to leave when Tony stopped me by grabbing my hand.

"Where are you going?"

I looked at him incredulously "Uh…to the lab, I dunno"

Tony just gave me a seductive smile and leaned over to my ear and whispered.

"What about the bedrooms?"

I ignored what he meant by that and answered.

"I am pretty sleepy" I almost laughed when he thought that I meant it the other way, I shoved him "Not like _that_!"

Tony let out an irritated sigh and let go of my hand, I then turned to him.

"No-really show me where the bedrooms are I really need to sleep I can't take it"

Tony muttered something under his breath and grabbed my hand and took me up the stairs that were off to the right of the room and walked up them and went to the door, once he opened them there was endless hallways filled with doors and inside those doors were luxurious bedrooms.

"Finally…" I sighed "I can sleep…" I couldn't help but yawn and go to one of the doors, but Tony grabbed the knob before I could get to it, I stared at him.

"You sure you don't want me in there?" Tony offered, I considered this for a moment-we can sleep in the same bed without anything happening-but on the other hand knowing Stark's raging hormones and sex addicted self I'm not so sure to except it, however he asked me to trust him and I told him to trust me, now might be a good time to see if I can trust him.

"No, you can come in" he looked like he had won first prize in the science fair but I interrupted his pride by sticking a finger up.

"But we are not doing it tonight-I'm way too tired and worried about dying tonight to even think about it" I snap, slapping his hand away from the doorknob as I opened it and walked into the bedroom, it was pale yellow and white with some chandeliers and two beds, I frowned, _shit…I was hoping for one…_, but I didn't complain I quickly went over to a bed and laid down and was about to fall asleep till I saw Tony lay on the other bed-I was quite surprised to see him do that, knowing his…'needs'

I bit my lip as I considered what I was about to ask.

"Tony?" I say as he turns off the lights with a keypad on the wall.

"Yeah-huh?"

I smirked _he always says that_, "Do you want to sleep over here?" I offered groggily, even in the dark I saw Tony's eyes brighten at the offer, he didn't even ask if it was ok he was already making a bee-line for the bed, I rolled my eyes as I felt his warm body get under the covers.

"Remember-nothing is happening tonight"

"I know, you're worried about Loki killing you"

I shuddered "Did you have to say it like that?" I asked as I squinted to see the curtains that were in the room.

"Sorry"

"You should be" I teased as I rolled over and gave him a quick kiss on what I think was his lips and it was thank god, I then quickly rolled back over but he stopped me.

"Tony, remember-I'm tired"

"It's not that, it's just-what did Loki do to you?" Tony asked, in the dark I could make out some of his face and his hair and his beautiful brown eyes, I sighed.

"I told you he went into my memories that…I was remembering" I tell him, I again tried to roll back over on the bed but he stopped me again.

"What memories? What happened in it?" Tony's voice sounded serious but worried, I swallowed.

"Okay…here it is, it was about my friends-it was eight years ago after my friends graduation party, we went to see a superhero movie" I began, Tony looked somewhat intrigued as I went on "And we went to my best friend Samantha's house-we both liked the same things…it's like you and Bruce we were that close-and they all had boyfriends except for me and I felt excluded…extremely and this one friend-Ellie, I don't even know if I should call her friend she was very…moody she's like a viper you never knew when she was going to strike"

"So like Natasha?" Tony commented, I chuckled and gave him a playful shove.

"Yeah-okay-in your terms like Natasha, and my other friend Lynn asked me 'why don't you have a boyfriend?' and I was a bit irritated at the comment and told her 'because I'm the last person anyone ever wants to be with'"

"I disagree" Tony mumbled, I shushed him and went on with my story "Lynn disagreed and Ellie stated 'with that attitude no wonder your single' or something to that affect and it just went to hell, Tony, I don't want to talk about it"

"Finish it Ali"

I sighed, I've never had anyone want to listen to my stories-especially a guy for that matter.

"Basically me and Ellie had a fight and my friends defended Ellie and I said 'screw you guys' and left them, they obviously didn't give a damn about me…and I cared about them, I was just there depressed show monkey" I let out a shaky sigh as I felt the tears of the past come back up into my eyes as one tear fell down my face, but Tony stopped my crying as he kissed me again, I let out a moan as he deepened it for a few minutes by frenching it, he then broke away.

"Your perfect and you are _not_ the last person on earth I'd want to be with" he murmured as he gave me another long kiss, once we broke away I whispered in his ear.

"Goodnight Tony"

"Goodnight Sketches"

**So yeah i just figured out how to use the horizontal line thingies :3 so sorry for not doing that pervious chapters but i do it on word! :I X3 so anyways hope you liked it! review fav and follow!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Well thanks for the new follower! means alot to me, just saw the Thor movie...and...I'm not a huge fan of the femient man with a ridiculous hammer so...yeah XDDDDD anyway...They mention Tony Stark breifly X3 and Hawkeye was in it :D anyways hope you like it! and plz fav folow all that jazz~**

Chapter 15

I woke up to the dawn light and Tony's warm body as I slowly lifted up from the bed, I let out a long yawn as I looked around the room. I then froze when I heard footsteps coming towards the door, I have relatively good hearing for someone my age I could hear almost anything, I guess you call that a superpower. I then rolled over to Tony and shook him violently, Tony eyes fluttered opened and he was somewhat alert but somewhat sleepy as well.

"What?" he asked, I was about to open my mouth and tell him but then the door opened, Tony didn't seem at all worried but yet his eyes were flickering in fear, then I saw the red haired assassin Natasha Romanov walk into the room, her eyes were hard and angry, but there was a flicker of amusement as she saw us in bed together.

Natasha looked at us for a second with a smirk on her face as she asked "Where have you two been?"

Of course Tony took this as an opportunity to make a comment "Uh…in bed obviously"

Natasha rolled her eyes but the smirk was still plastered on her face "I know that but…what were you two _doing_?"

I rolled my eyes in response to the question and asked her.

"Are we naked? No we didn't have sex Nat" I heard Tony snort at the beginning of my smart-ass comment.

Natasha pursed her lips "Alright-well…we need you guys we've been looking for you for hours" she stated blandly and left the room.

I turned to Tony my face was burning from embarrassment, I bit my lip.

"That-that was nice"

"I know right?" he teased, I rolled my eyes and got up from the bed and waited for Tony to be beside me then left the room with him trailing behind.

Once we had gotten outside of the room Natasha was waiting for us, and to my embarrassment Amelia and Bruce were with her as well, I looked down at the floor nervously as Natasha informed them.

"I found them, they were _in bed together_" I snapped my head back up at the way Natasha said 'in bed together' and scowled.

"_Nat we didn't have sex_-this girl is hopeless" I state to Tony as I pointed to Natasha, Tony snorted as I marched past him and walked down the huge, long hallway, I then heard someone running towards me, it was Amelia.

"You two didn't do the horizontal boogie did you?" Amelia asked, wide-eyed, I sighed.

"_No_, Amelia we _didn't _have _sex_-_God_!" I shout, I saw from far away Natasha and Bruce glancing over at me and then giving me a look of disbelief and went back to talking to Tony. I then let my voice go down into a whisper as I answered.

"No-Amelia we didn't do the horizontal boogie…" _We did before…_I thought, but I shook my head and turned to her.

"Would you like it if someone asked you if you and Bruce did the horizontal bop?"

Amelia blushed and shuffled her feet "Well…no…but-um…anyway" she said, obviously something was up with Amelia and Bruce, _They probably did 'do it'…but how did the Jolly Green Giant 'do it' without 'Hulk Smashing' the place?_ I almost snorted at something I just thought up but I didn't tell Amelia why I laughed.

Amelia looked somewhat nervous at me laughing but went on "So…I heard Loki made you cry…what happened there?"

I froze.

"Um…nothing…"

At that exact moment a gunshot sounded through the ship, my eyes widened as I turned to Amelia who's eyes were as huge as saucers, I turned to where I heard the gunshot then a man stood before us at the bottom of the steps with a rifle, he kept shooting us as I did what my instincts were telling me to do I pushed me and Amelia against the wall onto the ground so we would be protected. And pressed my rings against my tech stone and let the gloves and boots assemble as fast as they could possibly go, Amelia then grabbed a mine from her side latch and pressed the center button and threw it towards the killer and ran to warn the others at it blew up in his face. I quickly did the same but once my boots assembled I then took off in flight as I quickly grabbed Amelia as she let out a scream, I glared at her.

"Do you want to get there quicker or not?"

The angel assassin just swallowed and let me hold onto her as we found the Science brothers and the master assassins. Natasha looked at us with an inquiring look while Bruce looked confused and somewhat worried while Tony' eyes just looked somewhat amused and frightened.

"_We have a killer on the ship there might be more!_" I shout, Natasha instantly put her hands on the gun holders on her knees of her uniform as she grabs her repeaters and runs down the hallway, once I set Amelia down and took a hard landing the angel ran immediately over to Bruce who looked like he was fighting his out of control anger. I looked at Bruce worriedly but quickly turned my head to Tony who looked in a rush of worry, I looked at him funny but before I could say anything I saw two other men with heavy power guns as I quickly ran over grabbed Tony with my hands and used my boots to begin flying down the hallway trying to doge every bullet that flew toward us.

"Ali" Tony gasped out as I did a sharp turn to doge a bullet, there were more men now and their eyes looked like they were possessed.

"What?" I shouted at him as I took him down to the engineering room, Tony grabbed my shoulder tightly.

"You have to go to Loki's cage, if he escapes were dead!"

"I can't leave you without you in your armor I want you to be safe!" I shout at him as he pulls me down hardly on the shoulder which causes me to fall to the metal floor. I glared at him as he struggled to get up; Tony just looks up at me his brown eyes pleading.

"Forget about me-go check on Loki"

I just glare at him and tap my earpiece "Thor go to Loki's prison cell and make sure he doesn't leave"

Tony just glares at me and tries to get up as I was quick to help him up; I then got right down to business.

"Where is the Mark forty?" I ask him, Tony just gives me a quick look of defiance and then answers me.

"In the engineering room"

I rolled my eyes, and grabbed him once more and flew down the stairs feeling the wind blowing in my face as I made a quick and urgent landing in the engineering room door as I quickly punched in my code and shoved Tony inside, Tony calmly swiped a mini tablet off the desk and tapped one button on the screen as his suit turned on as the billionaire stepped in front of it and put the helmet on and put on the other pieces as I looked out the glass window and to my dismay some more of Loki's soldiers were coming to the door, I looked over at Tony franticly as he put on the final piece of the suit-the boots and I turned off the lights and all I could see was the light blue lights of his eyes and the shining white light of his arc reactor on the suit, as he came closer to me.

"Sketches were supposed to be working not fiddling around in our uniforms"

I looked at his 'eyes' and then his chest as I flashed back "Yours isn't a uniform dumb-ass it's a titanium alloy suit"

I could just see him smile at that comment as I smirked and looked back at the door-they were coming closer, my heart went crazy as I pushed the titanium man against the wall and pushed myself up close to him so we could stay hidden, but of course Tony took this as another shot of trying to flirt but I kicked where his nuts would be in his suit but it left him unaffected.

"That wasn't very nice Ms. Henderson"

I held back a laugh as I heard the door open, I knew they could see the light but they didn't seem to think about it being Iron Man, I gave Tony a glance even though he probably couldn't see me but he must have cause once I gave him a quick nod Tony let a Stark Industries mini missile fly and explode the guards as Tony was quick to cover me from the explosion and bullets as the flew right at us.

"Thanks Tony but I can take it from here" I mutter but that wasn't good enough he still blocked me from shooting distance as he his energy repulsor on one of the guards once he was dead I pushed Tony aside and used the energy repulsor's on mine as well and killed them each time I hit them twice, I was tempted to use my flamer fuel that was put into my gloves but I didn't it might end up making the whole ship explode. Tony then punched one guy in the face right when he ran in and he was instantly out of it, and I would be too if I ran into a man, made of iron.

"Nice job Tin Man" I chuckle as I quickly run out of the room, I was about to call Fury when I heard a squeak of energy being shot out of Tony's suit as the flight stabilizers shot him into the air, then just as I heard that I felt his hands under my legs and on my back as he picked me up bridal style and went back to flying, I stared at him confused.

"I have to call Fury-Tony put me down"

"Nope"

I rolled my eyes "Why not?"

"Cuz you made a pass on me twice in there and I can't take it any longer were going back to the bedrooms"

I smiled as an idea came into mind.

"Hell were not" I say as I turn on my flight stabilizers and flew out of Tony's grasp and flew down the hallway, as I heard Tony shout at me saying things like 'oh no you don't!' or 'You know you want to' I was laughing but then I stopped as I saw a horrible scene before me, I saw Amelia on the ground-in her wings that were blood stained and standing in front of me was an angry, covered in sweat and full of rage a green Hulk.

* * *

My chest was heaving up and down as I looked into the crazed dark, forest green eyes of the Hulk's or as Bruce would put it the 'other guy.' I stared in panic stricken horror as he just stood there waiting for me to say something to 'calm him down' or to shoot him, I was about to slowly but urgently fly away when Tony flew right into my back causing me to get closer to the Hulk.

"Oh…shit" Tony whispers as he realizes who was standing there, the Hulk roared and didn't waste any time as he made his first punch on me sending me flying I hear Tony scream my name in horror as I was slammed against a wall, my head ached and I could see somewhat of what was happening as I heard Hulk roar and then I heard Tony try to calm Hulk down but it was useless as I saw Tony fly backward from Hulks punch, I just moaned and I looked down at the floor to see blood flowing onto the metal floor as I shut my eyes and let out a sigh as the world went into eternal darkness.

* * *

I woke up-still in S.H.I.E.L.D's ship but I was in the hospital part of the room, I was in a hospital bed-how original, I turned my head over to look to see if anyone else was, Tony was in a hospital bed as well-I tried getting up but my body ached in reply-but I could honestly care less, I got up even though it was a pain to do so and had my eyes scan his body for blood-fractures anything that could be fatal, I didn't want him to be in bad condition or in a near death experience. He was covered in bed sheets as I examined him; he wasn't in his Iron Man suit he was in his clothes that he wore before which was his black undershirt and jeans, I gently pulled the blanket backward as I saw his arm was covered in dried blood I gasped and covered my mouth as I looked at it, it was revolting it was then I noticed that he had a horrible scratch on his head, I bit my lip and then noticed that there was some type of ointment on them and I relaxed.

_They'll probably bandage him up later…and me too_ I thought as I slowly went over to the bed, only to hear the door open and see Steve walk in along with Natasha, Natasha quickly grabs me and gently lays me on the bed.

"What the hell are you doing?" The red-head asked me, I was about to answer her but then stopped myself, _she'll probably poke fun at me telling her that I wanted to see if Tony was ok_, but it seemed like Natasha realized the answer as I saw her smirk at me while Steve looked at me and Natasha in confusion, I couldn't help but smirk at Steve, _he's so dense…_

Natasha just covered me back up in the sheets and looked over at Tony "He was hurt pretty bad by Bruce-he was able to get away from him…for awhile, but then Hulk broke his arm and punched him backwards causing his head to be scratched up against the knives that we keep on our training level while one sword cut off a huge chunk of his skin-and some muscle…there was _a lot_ of blood"

I swallowed feeling tears well up in my eyes a little and I felt my throat close in sadness as I took the blame like a damsel in distress.

"If only I had been strong enough to get up I would've saved him…"

Natasha rolled her eyes "Please-he's not _dead_ quit being a dramatic" I glanced over at Steve who covered his mouth to prevent him from laughing, I just smiled at Natasha.

"Yeah-sorry my…" I stopped myself, _my…_feelings_? When the hell did I have those?_ "Sorrow got the best of me" I said recovering my fault. Natasha's eyes narrowed, obviously noticing my fault while Steve noticed it as well his eyes were scanning me obviously wondering why I worried so much about the playboy, and to be honest I want to know why I…love…him so much.

"What…what happened to me?" I asked them, Natasha was the first to answer that.

"Well you obviously know what happened" I nodded "well your head banged the wall I guess…a bit too hard and you have-yet another head injury…it's pretty bad Ali"

I sighed, of course its bad I'm the weak one of the team! Of course I'm going to be in a near death experience every time I get into a fight! I looked at Steve and Natasha who were obviously examining my forehead that was oozing blood earlier, and then Steve ultimately took action on this looking at Natasha.

"Go get the bandages"

"Steve the doctors-"

"I don't give a damn about the doctors go get bandages…she needs them and you agree"

Natasha bit her lip "Yes I do agree they shouldn't leave them here without getting their wounds worked on" the agent then left the room leaving me alone with Steve and the clocked out Tony Stark. Steve's hazel eyes turned to a pale blue as he was examining my head; I bit my lip as he quit looking at it and looked at me.

"You okay?"

_No…I failed to protect Tony when he failed to protect me…_but I couldn't possibly tell Steve that, he's obviously oblivious about the fact the me and Tony have had a 'Friends with benefits' relationship. I sighed and looked at him; _I could be honest with him…_

"No…No I'm not Steve"

He looked somewhat worried as he asked me "Why?"

"I…" this was hard to tell someone something this personal when you've never fully spoken to them since you've lived with them for over three months "I…failed to protect Tony like he always protects me…and I feel horrible for not defending him"

"Why do you feel so bad for not defending him?"

I gaped at him for only a second when I realized, _oh yeah the friends with benefits thing he doesn't know right…_

"Because Steve he has always defended me in times were there has been no hope or when I just need help in a vocal conversation"

Steve was just looking at me somewhat intrigued, he seemed to be piecing together what I was saying-not the benefits thing but the…feelings between us, then his eyes flickered in understanding.

"You understand what I'm telling you here?" I ask him, he just slowly nods.

"Why Stark?" he asked, I chuckled.

"I'm not so sure myself…he's the only one I can really relate to…in _some_ ways" Steve laughed when he heard me say 'some.'

"I hope you're not a lot like Stark-that would be frightening to have two of them"

I waved him away "Nah…just with comebacks and comments" I say biting my tongue playfully, Steve just chuckled and before he could ask another question I heard Natasha come in with the bandages.

"Hey sorry it took so long; they were hidden very well in a closet"

"Mm" I hum as Steve takes the bandages and wraps them around my head, I never took my eyes off of his hazel eyes which were now that stunning bright green that they were most of the time, and once he was done I just smiled at him.

"Thanks" I mumbled shyly, he just nods and goes over to Tony and wraps his right arm up in the bandages, I looked at Tony while Steve was doing that, the billionaire looked like he was in a deep sleep I smiled as I saw him twitch when Steve was wrapping the bandage around his arm for the second time. I was interrupted from my peace of mind by Natasha voice.

"You love him don't you?" Natasha whispered, I snapped my head around feeling the blood rush to my face instantly while Natasha was being dead-serious about the question. Even though I had realized that I love him…I don't feel like now is the time to admit it then a question aroused in my head, _If having a near death experience isn't the best time when _is_ the best time?_ I swallowed.

"No…no I don't"

"Oh really?" Natasha countered with pursed lips "Then why were you looking at him in a daze?"

I bit my lip "I'm just hoping he'll pull through" I say quickly, smiling when I came up with it so fast.

Natasha just shakes her head she was about to ask me another question about me and Tony when Steve came up to her.

"Enough questions she needs rest" Steve orders as Natasha grunts and leaves the room while Steve leaves behind her, I look at Steve gratefully and mouth 'Thank you' Steve just gives me a quick grin and leaves me alone with Tony still-quite possibly in a coma.

I let out a sigh as I slowly shut my eyes and went into peace…finally…

* * *

I woke up to a moaning noise beside me, I jumped in excitement and turned to look and to my pleasure Tony was awake I smiled and tried to get out of my bed and surprisingly my body didn't ache in complain like it normally would like yesterday, I then went to his bedside as he looked at me confused.

"Ali? What…happened?-_oh god_" Tony groaned at the end of the question as he tried to get adjusted, I put a hand on his arc reactor.

"Don't even move" I murmur, Tony just sighs and slumps back down into the bed.

"What happened?" he repeated, I just looked into those brown eyes as I answered.

"The Hulk"

Tony looked as if he was trying to remember what happened last time he was awake, then realization flickered in his eyes and he let out a loud moan.

"Shit…the way he hit you…are you okay?" he asked suddenly sounding worried, I just nodded, but before I could stop him he got the back of my neck, gave it a gentle tug, and gave me a long kiss, I settled my body on the bed by moving my legs on top of the bed and then laid flat on the bed while we kissed, he put his good arm around my waist and he was about to go to the next level when we heard the door knob move we quickly got off one another's lips and I stayed where I was as I saw Clint come into the room.

His pale blue eyes were fixed on us as he walked in "You feeling better?" he asked us, I just shrugged.

"Been worse"

Clint smirked and looked over at Tony, the billionaire's dark eyes looked at Clint and then me "I just woke up so…yeah"

Clint rolled his eyes "Well-Fury needs to see you regardless of how you feel, we have a dilemma on our hands"

Once Clint was out of sight I was about to get up and help Tony and then leave but Tony grabbed my arm with his left-his good-hand.

"Why don't we pick up where we left off?"

"What about Fury?" I asked him, sounding worried.

Tony smirked "Who gives a damn about Fury?-Not me"

I just smiled "Me neither" I murmur as I press my lips up against his once more, but once I kissed him Tony asked me.

"Then…_m_-why…did…you ask?" he mumbled through our kissing, I just smirked while my lips were against his and kept going, ignoring the question.

"I...was so…worried-about…you Tony" I muffle in the middle of out kissing, I was surprised he didn't take this any further, but then again…were hurt, in excruciating pain, why would we fiddle around in a hospital?

I felt Tony's hand go down to my lower waist as he deepened the kiss and gave me a gentle tug, when I didn't budge he made an annoyed grunt. I looked at him funny as I pulled away from him.

"I'm sorry I don't speak grunt" I tease, Tony rolls his eyes and try's again with his left hand he shakily put me on top of him. Once he did that he put his hand on the back of my neck and pulled me in for the kiss again and my body relaxed as I melted on top of him, his hand drifted further than where it was before I let out a chuckle when he did that and then my earpiece went off and I heard Fury's angry voice in my ear.

"_Henderson, do you copy?_"

I tried to hold back a laugh as I broke away from Tony and slipped off his body and sat next to him.

"This is agent Henderson…what do you want?"

Tony then hit his earpiece "Yeah Nickleback what's the gist?"

I snorted at the nickname while Tony just gave me one of his signature smirks; I almost burst out laughing when I heard Fury cuss him out.

"_Anyway_…I _need_ you two in the control room…didn't Barton tell you two that?"

"Yeah Bird-Brain told us that but…we got caught up"

I smiled but blushed realizing that Fury would probably understand what that meant, but probably on a higher note.

"Well get here _now_" then he was gone, Tony huffed and slowly tried to get up and I was quick to help him as I put an arm over his shoulder and helped him out of the room.

* * *

Once we finally made it into the control room, and a few irritated calls from the Avengers we were finally there each Avenger looked at us angrily except for Steve and Bruce, because Steve for one-probably had a good idea at what we were doing but he was a bit irritated that we didn't come straight away-while Bruce…can't exactly be angry without killing us.

I glanced embarrassingly over at Natasha who was eying me warily; I then quickly got down to business as I helped Tony into his chair.

"So what happened?"

Fury looked too…well angry to even say anything and Natasha and of course Clint stepped in and answered for me.

"Loki got away"

My eyes widened "Say what now?"

"He got away" Natasha repeated "Thor went in to check on him like you ordered him to and Loki was already gone…he got away, and we have no idea where he went and then…" she glanced at Bruce who looked so depressed about what he did he couldn't even look at me and Tony without even grimacing.

"Other things happened" she said glancing at Bruce once more before looking back at us, I slammed my fist on the table in anger and hit my head on the steel wall only to jump back and moan in pain.

"We have to find him" I heard Steve say from behind me, getting back to their previous discussion before we came in.

"I agree" I heard Amelia say, her fingers gently feeling the tips of her war knives on her thigh knife holders.

"But we all don't know where he is, there's no point in finding him if we don't know where to start" Natasha scowled.

"Well…does he have the Tesseract?" I asked them, slowly getting into the conversation as I slipped away from the wall.

"We do not know Lady of Iron…my brother has many tricks, he may have it and we may not even know it"

I looked at him puzzled at the Lady of Iron bit then I realized my gloves were still on, so I let them disassemble while I kept talking.

"Then Bruce, Tony" their heads popped up from me saying their names with so much authority, they looked at me stunned and quite amused, I narrowed my eyes.

"What are you looking at me like that for? Go look for the signature of the Tesseract!"

"It's not that simple Ali" I heard Bruce say as I turned to face him, he wasn't looking at me now he was just fiddling with his glasses "If Loki hidden the Tesseract on Asgard then the scanner won't be able to find it and it's a waste of time"

"There's always a catch" I mutter, I cross my arms and decide not to say another word after humiliating myself in front of the world's greatest heroes. I then leaned against the cold steel wall and listened to their discussion.

"You could still look for it" said Clint defending me-sort of while Tony just shrugs and lets out an exasperated sigh and looks up at Bruce.

"Shall we play doctor?" he asked, Bruce smirked and I helped him up out of the chair and left the room leaving them to their discussion with Bruce and a somewhat handicapped Tony leaving the room.

* * *

Once that was over Tony and Bruce just punched in a few buttons on the screens on their computer and they were already done all they had to do was wait. Once Tony was done with his work I was right beside him if he couldn't do something then I could do it for him…unless if that something was lifting something heavy then…that didn't work out.

After hours of helping him with stuff I was worn out, I wanted sleep-I didn't give shit if the Avengers think that I had sex with the Science Brother, I don't give a shit!...well actually I do but still god! I need sleep too you know!

"Tony" I murmur in his ear, he had fallen asleep-he shouldn't have worked for nine hours straight without a break, he's very stubborn…like I am.

He suddenly woke up and looked at me drowsily, I smirked at him-he was worse off than I was, my head was actually getting better his was getting better but it was taking longer.

"Let's go to bed" Tony's eyes flickered in mischief as he agreed and slowly got up and I helped him once more down the hall.

Once we left the room we began to have a conversation.

"And when I mean go to bed-I mean the sleeping kind of going to bed, _not_ the getting laid type of going to bed"

He made his shoulders sag as if he was crushed and I rolled my eyes at him as we entered the engineering room.

"You're too badly wounded to even _do that_"

"Who says I can't?" He counters, I smirk and stop supporting him he could walk without that obviously it just makes me feel better knowing that I'm helping in _some_ way, I then walk over to his bandaged arm and give it a poke, and he moans in reply.

I bit my lip "See? You can't, now come on" I walk over to his right side as his other arm goes around my shoulder.

"You know this doesn't help at all you know that right? I hurt my _arm_ not my _leg_"

I give him a quick glare "Yes but it makes me feel like I'm…helping you…sort of"

"But it isn't helping Sketches"

"I know I'm just crazy like that-sorry"

"I know you're crazy" he mutters, I then bop the back of his head as he whines like a little kid.

"What was that for?"

"Calling me crazy"

"What? It's true"

"And you deserve this" I say bopping him on the head again, this went on for five more minutes till we got to the door of the bedroom we were at two days ago, I opened the door and let Tony walk by himself.

"Ahh…sleep how I love you" I say as I punch my face into a memory foam pillow.

I heard Tony snort as he got in the same bed with me, I then got the lights adjusted in the room with the keypad the appeared on the wall I typed in the settings as the lights were turned down low.

"Okay, now that's done" I say to myself, as I turn over to look at him, but he was already asleep I couldn't help but smile as I looked at him, I then gave him a quick kiss on the sleeping lips and then darkness took my vision once more as sleep took me away.

**And Congratulations Robert Downey Jr. for winning two awards at Peoples Choice! :3 you earned it!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Thanks MistressOfMisery for commenting on my Avengers Happy New Year! story! ;) i knew it was you when i read the username i had a feeling X3 anyway if this is the first time your reading my story please read and review! even if your not a member of Fanfic! plz! i love hearing opinons compliments and other things! i just love comments! Thank You~ **

Chapter 16

I woke up to hear my earpiece buzzing in my ear, I turned violently in my bed and punched the earpiece which made my eardrum throb, I gritted my teeth at the pain as I answered the call.

"What the hell do you want?" I snap, angry to be bothered from my peaceful sleep, I then lowered my voice when I heard Tony stirring.

"What is it?"

"Well you sound like you're in a good mood" it was Natasha; I could just see her smile "Was the sex not good enough for you last night?"

I gritted my teeth "Nat, we did not-"

The agent cut me off "Are you in bed?"

"Yes"

"Are you-"

"Naked?-No, so no sex thank you for your call" I say with fake happiness as I turn her off, I turned to look at Tony who wasn't stirring anymore but was still sleeping silently his back rising and falling slowly, I half shut my eyes as I looked at him. _So now only Steve knows that we love each other, Bruce has somewhat of an idea-Amelia pretty much knows about us and Natasha and Clint probably already know of our antics in Stark Towers….that evening…was never supposed to happen, but we were fighting then we slowly went to a normal and happy, teasing conversation and then…Tony made his move on me…he won me over and that night was…I hate to admit it but it was great…I can't believe I'm saying it but it was, but then I remembered how the age gap threatens our relationship entirely…we need to stop…but how can we when we can never leave each other alone without thinking about the other? …Jealousy…that's what ends relationship instantly…but who in hell would fall for me? No one except for him…that ladies and gentlemen is problem number one, being the most unattractive girl in the world!_

Then I saw Tony's sides go up and down more quickly indicating that he was beginning to awake, I quickly turned away from him and stayed on the bedside and began to reconsider my plan of…'breaking up' with Tony.

_I mean…nobody found me attractive in High School, College-though Fury kinda cut my college years short when I was suddenly asked to join S.H.I.E.L.D….and here in the Avengers till me and Tony just-clicked and now I'm thinking about terminating our 'relationship' what the hell is wrong with me?_

I groaned and rested my head in my hands as I began to think more about this until a hand grabbed my waist and pulled me backward, I squealed in surprise and covered my mouth and laughed as I saw Tony laying next to me, his eyes were full of mischief-as usual-but he looked better, I smiled and kissed him and then backed away remembering what I was thinking about, I then looked down on the bed in sorrow as I remembered what I was thinking about earlier, and Tony noticed my sorrow.

"What's up Sketches?" he asked me, I just looked into his dark eyes-they never leaved mine, I've never had this happen to me before, never, I just examined his face-he looked worried…nobody ever reacted like that to me unless if I fainted or had a near death experience.

He was still waiting I couldn't take it any longer I needed to see if I had a different feeling with him than any other person that I wanted to love, I glanced at his arm.

"You feel better?"

Tony looked at me confused for a second then looked at his arm and showed me, it had healed extremely-it was probably tender though.

"Does it hurt to move it?" I ask him, he was still looking at me funny.

"No…Ali what-"

He never got to finish, I had already gotten right up against him and kissed him passionately, I needed to know if he was who I truly loved than some boy at school-or some freshman in college I _had_ to know if this love was real.

I was now on top of him as I kept kissing him; he seemed somewhat surprised because he hadn't fully gotten in the mode of kissing me back. But once I slipped his shirt off, he knew exactly what I wanted, Tony then tried to figure out how my uniform worked, I couldn't help but laugh as he began to kiss my neck and looked at the back to find the invisible zipper that holds it all together. Once he found it he took his lips off my neck and slowly unzipped the back, as I moaned wanting him to do it quicker, but he was playing with me-or testing me rather to see how much I really wanted it, once he finally got the zipper to the bottom I slipped it off leaving me in my undergarments.

I was more than happy to toss the uniform aside as I went to Tony's neck and kissed it gently, he shuddered and groaned as I began to bite it gently, I frowned in the middle of kissing it searching for the weak spot on him, once I found the tender spot on his neck I leaned away and whispered in his ear.

"Is this Iron Man's weakness?" I whispered, I almost laughed at his comment.

"In this case-hell yes"

Once I kissed there he went limp and went fell to the bed, my lips never leaving his neck, once I began to bite he let out loud groans that I thought could never escape his body.

It was when he got his hands on my bra clasp that my earpiece went off again; apparently Tony's as well because he let out a loud moan.

"_Really Fury?_" Tony whined.

I then tapped my earpiece and went over to my uniform, knowing that I would probably have to get dressed and do something.

"Yes?" I gasped, trying to regain oxygen from all of our passionate kissing.

"Why do you sound out of breath Ali?" Natasha asked, I blushed.

"I was doing my daily workout"

"Yup, that's what she was doing and so was I" Tony put in breaking up our conversation, I shut my eyes, I turned around and made a slitting throat motion with my hand telling him to shut the hell up!

I heard Natasha laugh from the other end "Well…I'm coming over to the bedroom…that _is_ where you guys are right?"

I swallowed quickly getting in my suit "Yeah that's where we are-See you soon bye" I say in a jumble, running over to Tony and standing in front of him, and then turning around.

"Help me with this _please_" I beg as Tony puts his hand on the zipper that ends on the rear.

I felt him lean next to my ear and whisper "Why don't we pick up where we left off after Natasha leaves?" I felt him gently bite my earlobe, I sighed when he did that and stiffened once he zipped my suit up, and my stomach was fluttering like crazy.

"Mm…" I hum, as he slips his undershirt on, I looked at his reactor for a second and then I hear the door knob turn.

Then Natasha Romanov entered the room, she had a smirk plastered on her face again, just like when she was here last time.

"Fury needs us assembled in the control room"

"Why didn't you just tell us that on the earpiece?" I asked, the red-head just smirked and looked at me and Tony and started laughing and left us alone in the room.

"Oh boy…" I muttered, glancing over at him, Tony just shrugged and walked passed me as if nothing happened earlier, I sighed and left the room a few seconds later and began to reconsider. _We may get along but…maybe I was right to begin with…maybe…maybe we're not supposed to be together well obviously because of the age gap, but…I'll have to tell him today, I can't put this off._ I decided, walking past the bedroom doors, I then saw Tony who was slowly walking down the steps, most likely wanting to be 'fashionably late' I then ran over to him and tapped his shoulder.

"What's up Sketches?" he asked as we walked down the steps together, I sighed _this will be hard…_, I then looked at him he seemed like his normal self, he had no idea what was coming.

"Tony…" I begin, feeling sick at trying to say this "This…_relationship_ won't work" I say quickly wanting to get that over with.

Tony seemed surprised and somewhat confused "What are talking about? What do you mean it won't work?" he asked me, stopping on the stairway that led us into the engineering room.

I swallowed, trying not to look into his brown eyes "It…just can't…the age gap, and I'm not even sure if…_this_" I say waving my hand at us "Is even real…"

I then fought the courage to look into his eyes, they looked angered "What do you mean you're not sure if it's real? Our love is real…"

"Is it?" I questioned, feeling tears beginning to well up inside my eyes "Because I sure don't see it" and with that I left him, words couldn't describe the pain I felt at all, my heart ached to be near someone, it just wasn't right-it didn't _feel_ right to be away from him for so long even though we weren't that far apart.

Once I made it to the control room I was already feeling tears stream down my face, but I tried not to sob or gasp at all, but Amelia noticed my pain, she was already beside me her hazel eyes were round as she looked at me.

"What's wrong?" she asked, Amelia's face was cut and bloody from the fighting yesterday, but she seemed to look better like me and Tony did, I just kept my eyes on the floor and shook my head and muttered.

"Maybe later"

Then after I said that Tony made his 'fashionably late' appearance, Natasha rolled her eyes at him and walked over to me, her jade were no longer annoyed but they were concerned on why I was crying.

"What's up? You didn't seem this upset when I saw you a few minutes ago"

"I'll tell you two later" I mutter, Amelia glanced at Natasha in worry and then looked over at Fury who was now the center of attention as he began his pointless rant on how we need to save the world, then after ten minutes of that he finally got to the real point of this conversation.

"Now, we have seen Loki's soldiers getting supplies for some type of reactor"

_Like the Arc Reactor? The one in Stark Industries? …or something bigger?_ I thought, _it's probably something like that_.

After a few more minutes of that he basically said we need to keep our eyes on the computers and if were called down come _immediately_ when he said that Fury looked at me and Tony, but me and Tony looked at each other our eyes were full of pain, realizing that, that will never happen again.

"Don't worry" I whisper to myself "It won't happen anymore"

Natasha and Amelia must have heard me say that because they looked at each other, stunned, Natasha then grabbed me and Amelia's hands once the meeting was over and took us up a ladder which led to the roof of the ship, and we got to see the sunset over the clouds.

"Now" Natasha began sitting down next to me and Amelia "What happened?"

I looked at the clouds that were starting to turn pink in a daze and told them what happened.

"You guys…you guys know that me and Tony are…in _some_ _kind_ of a relationship? Right?"

Natasha smirked and shrugged "Sort of…I mean me and Clint knew that you two got on like rabbits at Stark Towers"

I blushed when Amelia's eyes got huge and round "You…you…you two…?-"

"_Yes we had sex Sherlock!_" I shout while Natasha starts laughing, I then shut my eyes trying to force myself to not laugh, but I let out a giggle and then went on to what I was going to tell my two friends.

"After you called me this morning Nat…I began to wonder if this…relationship was…real-and I began to consider…not being with him anymore"

"But you hang out with him _all the time_" Natasha said, I just nodded and smiled thinking of the stuff that happened when I first met him, it was insane, I put some chemicals in a test tube and they foamed up like crazy and his whole lab was covered in goo, it was hilarious.

"I know…" I sighed, still smiling at the fun memories.

"Then why terminate your 'relationship' with him? There's no reason to do that Ali" Natasha told me, while Amelia nodded in agreement as Natasha went on "If you love him-be with him, don't abandon him"

"Anyway on with the story" I mutter as I go on, seeing purple clouds beginning to form around the golden sun "once he woke up I decided to give my feelings a test, I kissed him and then it kind of…" I glanced at Amelia when I ended the sentence "accelerated" I bit my lip, they two of them grinned, understanding what I meant.

"And then you broke it up" I say waving my arm to Natasha, who just winked "And then I decided, it's over…I never got to find out if it was real"

Natasha just looked at me like I was a total idiot "You never fully got to test your love for him Ali, why terminate it when you never got to test it-don't quit just because of me! Now go do it!" Natasha ordered shoving me as I fell to the metal roof of the ship.

Once I got back in seating position I just stared at her incredulously, Natasha just looked at me still looking irritated.

"_Go get it on like rabbits!_"

It was then I had to burst out laughing, then Amelia started laughing, then Natasha couldn't be the oddball of us and began laughing loudly-louder than me which is surprising-I thought, other than Thor I was the loudest laugher of the whole Avengers, but I guess Natasha is now a part of the loud laughers group.

"Really?" was all I could gasp out, once I got more air in my lungs I went on "After I 'broke up' with him you want me to randomly…make out with him?"

Natasha was about to answer when Amelia butted in "He does that to women on a daily bases"

I shrugged and nodded my head and smirked at that "True"

Then Natasha finally composed herself "So your gonna do it?" she asked, I bit my lip.

"I'll consider it" I say, Natasha and Amelia glance at each other and then grin evilly at me, I couldn't help but chuckle at it-cause it looked rather funny, but I didn't like that look.

"I don't like where this is going"

"Oh-you won't like it" Natasha said raising one of her eyebrows.

"No you won't" Amelia echoed, then the spy paused for a minute before adding "To an extent"

I just looked at both of them and shook my head "You guys are crazy"

The rest of the evening was filled with giggles and evil plans.

* * *

The sun had set hours ago and our conversation had ended hours ago as well, Natasha and Amelia-from my understanding were going to be with me every second until Tony came and then make things awkward for the two of us, which will be pretty interesting seeing how this will go.

I was in the lab with Tony; Bruce was still trying to get over the guilt that he had been suffering for so long after his 'Hulk out' so he wouldn't be with his Science Brother for awhile. And Natasha was there as well, they were taking shifts on when they get to spend time with the two of us, and they did succeed in making things awkward and insufferable, at one point they had it to where they had me fall on top of him and our lips barely grazed and Natasha acted as if she didn't see it but she was grinning on the inside, but this last plan that Natasha and Amelia planned out took the cake.

I was sitting on the table while Tony was sliding his fingers over the touch screen computers and Natasha then got up from her chair and left the room.

"See you Ali-I have to go check on Clint"

I narrowed my eyes.

"Sure" I say blandly, I glared at her once she left-I never fully agreed to her doing this, I mean after I have a fight with someone the last thing I want to do is be with them but…on the other hand, I don't mind being with the playboy, he lures me in every time.

"Hey...Sketches" Tony mutters as he kept his eyes on his screen "Hand me the-"

It was too late the lights had gone out and the computer shut off, the only light I had was Tony's miniaturized arc reactor. I was blushing so hard knowing that this was all Natasha and Amelia's doing.

I clenched my fist and stared at the ceiling, I could so kill them right now.

"What the hell?" I heard Tony mutter.

"I have no idea" I lie as I get off the table and walk over to the door to open it but it locked instantly.

"Bitches" I hiss.

"What?" I heard Tony say, I bit my lip as I turned to face where I heard his voice.

"Nothing…just said-son of a bitch" I say quickly as I walk as far away as I could from him, I didn't really want any of his 'love' right now, I just want to be alone for once in my life.

We were quiet for a few minutes till Tony broke the silence-as always.

"Ali?"

"Yup"

"Why did you want to not be together?" he asked, I sighed and looked at where I could see his pale blue reactor light.

"I…just…don't think we should be together"

"Why?"

"_Because_, the age gap…and…other reasons"

"Who gives a damn about age? And what other reasons?" he asks as I walk over to where I thought Bruce's computer was at.

"I give a damn about age! And I said there _personal_ so no way in hell am I telling you" I say as I stop in front of-what I think-was the scanning lab door.

"Try me" he dares, I could see his arc reactor light coming closer.

"I told you this already, I…I wanted to test and see if our love was _real_, because…I never saw it"

"You saw it every day I told you that I love you, you saw it every day we kissed, you saw it every day we made love, it was right there in front of you everyday"

"That may be so, but I wanted to know if…" I paused, _I guess this is it…I tell him…_ I realized.

"If what?" he encourages, I could feel his breath on my lips as I swallowed and answered.

"I loved you than some boy at high school or some freshman in college; I wanted to know if I loved you"

It was quiet for a moment, I could just hear Natasha and Amelia fan girl squealing probably watching the whole thing.

"I wanted to know if I loved you" I repeated, I held my breath, when I felt his hands in mine.

"And do you?" he asked, even though he couldn't see it I had to smirk, _now's the time I guess…_

"Yes" I answer, my heart beating out of its chest, I didn't even wait for his quick smart-ass response.

"I love you so much" I answered as I pressed my lips against his, his hands then let go of mine as my arms wrapped around his neck and Tony's hands slid down to my waist.

"I love you so much Tony" I repeated through our kissing, it felt like we had been separated for months even though it was just a few hours. We then took the kiss to the next level by frenching it for a moment, then Tony decided since were in a dark room and our injury's our better let's do it by sliding his hands down to my thighs. I then wrapped my legs around his waist as he picked me up and carried me over to the door, at that exact moment the lights were back on, he broke away for a second.

"Great timing" Tony gasped as he quickly opened the door.

"Mm" I agree, I was tempted to flip off the cameras for Natasha and Amelia's show but I left it as Tony carried me down the hallway but then put me down, I pouted at him.

"What's the big idea?"

"Look-this is a hot moment and all but I can't carry you up fifty flights of stairs" he gasped, I just nodded as we ran up the steps to the bedrooms, _I guess I need to thank Natasha and Amelia later… _

I bit my tongue playfully and ran up the stairs laughing when he complained about me being too fast.

After we made it up fifty flights of stairs we were winded, but that didn't stop us from the heat of the moment-I guess I could call it that. Once I was in front of the door I put my hand up to the knob and turned it but Tony stopped me instantly.

"What?"

His dark brown eyes showed that tint of golden that it usually shows when his curious, as he looked at me.

"When did you realize that you loved me?"

I could feel my heart going crazy; you could see my chest jerking up and down frantically as it does when I'm nervous.

"That day when my cover was blown in the mansion and you comforted me…I realized that…I loved you-how many times do I have to say it?"

"Till I'm satisfied"

"Figured"

"Now forget this shitty talk"

I chuckle as I open the door once more into our…friends with benefits-or no, I think I should call it our real and true relationship…minus what was going to happen now of course.

Once I had shut the door and Tony had dashed inside I took a nervous step backward and ran right into his chest, but of course he didn't give me a chance to make a comment in the matter as he pushed me up against the wall and kissed me like all those other times before.

* * *

I woke up to a jab in my side as I looked up and saw Tony looking straight at me, he was fully clothed, I cocked my head in confusion.

"What's up?" I asked groggily as I slowly got up from the bed, making sure to cover myself under the sheets.

"Fury…needs to…go over some things with me-_personal things_"

I furrowed my eyebrows at him but shrugged and pushed his shoulder gently "Okay, go ahead"

"See you later" he murmured as he gave me a quick peck on the lips and slipped out of the room, once he left I found my suit and zipped it up myself, moaning in pain when I had a Charlie horse in my shoulder now and again from zipping it by myself.

I brushed out my hair that Tony tangled like crazy last night, but his hair was no better-he looked like a younger Albert Einstein; I snorted at the thought and went back to brushing out the birds' nests and after twenty minutes of screaming in agony I finally finished.

I then sprinted over to the door and left, leaving the bed sheets in a horrible matted mess.

I was instantly greeted by Amelia and Natasha who were walking over to me; they obviously wanted all the details when they probably had video feed of it somehow.

"Hey" Amelia greeted with a full-on smile, I rolled my eyes at her.

"Hey, you're not getting any info-cause I'm sure you got your full dose of it last night did you not?"

They just glanced at each other for a second-surprise flickering in their eyes but then turned to me smiling.

"Do you think you'll be able to stay stable in this relationship?" Amelia asked me, Natasha's jade eyes flickered in question, as if to agree.

I smirked at her "What is this? An interview with the press?-and I'm not sure, we'll see how it goes"

Natasha rolled her eyes and turned her head so I couldn't hear or see what she said but thanks to my excellent hearing I could hear her "Tony's already beginning to rub off on her"

"I can hear you know" I say blandly walking past the two master spies, and then a question occurred.

"How did you guys turn off the lights in the lab?-_and_ lock the door?"

"That's for us to know and you to find out" Amelia stated as the two master assassins walked away and went to the training level of the ship.

I rolled my eyes as them, even though they couldn't see me and walked down the stairs and went to the engineering room to look for Tony, then I remembered-_oh yeah he has that meeting thing with Fury…why don't I intrude on that shall I? _I smirked and turned around to where I saw the air duct, I observed it for minute understanding that it would be a noisy entrance by the way the metal looked and the density of it as well, _it looks like once I put my fat ass in there it will make a loud boom once I get in, I'll be able to fit-sure, but I need…some tools…maybe-no hell with tools_. I was about to get inside till I glanced around, hoping there weren't any S.H.I.E.L.D agents watching-or any camera's pointed in my direction-thank god, they weren't even in my direction and no agents were even in this hallway. Once I double checked the parameter I gently and quietly opened the metal casing of the duct and slid my body inside trying my best not to make a loud thudding noise, and it only made a tiny bump, I only prayed that it wouldn't be heard by Fury as I slowly turned and shut the air duct and crawled around and went onward, I took a right turn down the long, dark tube that led to where the training room was, I needed a mini tracker identifier-to see where specific people are at and to have a live streaming video feed of them talking, it works.

I let out a sigh of nervousness as I looked down the thin metal bars and saw the red hair of Natasha and the light brown of Amelia they were too busy fighting each other to even notice that my dark brown eyes were locked on the tracker. I checked my waist for my utility belt that I had full of spy gadgets that Natasha gave me when I first joined S.H.I.E.L.D's agent training when I was eighteen, I felt my waist-nothing I jumped in confusion and surprise I looked around wondering where it went, I then bit my lip in anger when I realized that it was in Stark Towers, not here on S.H.I.E.L.D's ship. I just rolled my eyes and left them to their brawling and went to the interrogation room where Fury was probably asking Tony pressing questions, I then began to wonder what questions were being asked, I then remembered what Tony told me this morning and the way he said it.

_"__Fury…needs to…go over some things with me-personal things" _

My eyes widened at that, they were most likely going to ask him about what happened with us last night-it could ruin my life here couldn't it? I quickly crawled forward for forty five minutes I had almost given up on the idea of risking my life and my job till I heard Tony's voice and Fury's sigh of desperation. My head jerked up in happiness as I quietly and slowly crawl to where the air duct bars were and pressed my head against the cold, dark metal wall, my dark chocolate hair itching, my ears as I did so. My eyes squinted in irritation as I tried to make out what Fury was saying but it was difficult knowing that the walls were sound proof here and it wouldn't surprise me if the metal in this air duct was sound proof as well. I kept my hands on my sides, knowing that if Fury saw me it would most likely be my hands cause I never know what to do with them half of the time. I then bit my lip as I strained my ears to try and make out what was being said, even though that there was an opening to the room it was hard to make out what was being said for some reason but once I got positioned correctly I finally could hear everything perfectly without a muffled sounding voice.

"So if this keeps happening I can't be Iron Man anymore?" that was Tony talking, his voice was abounding strained and full of regret.

I heard a sigh from Fury "Stark, what have we been talking about for an hour?"

"Pointless shit" Tony says matter-of-factly.

I bit my lip trying to hold back a laugh as Fury went on.

"Stark, I understand you have raging hormones but if you keep doing this with a S.H.I.E.L.D agent either you or Ms. Henderson will be kicked out of the Avengers and will have their memory erased from _all_ of their memories from the Avengers"

"Oh I'm sorry and Romanov and _Barton_ are _allowed_ to have intimate relations while we just sit there looking at each other wanting to be closer than we are now?" Tony counters, I just nodded, agreeing with him-even though they couldn't see me…or at least I think they can't.

"That's different" Fury mutters "There agents they were supposed to have an intimate relationship for their cover"

"And they don't have feelings for each other now?" Tony shouted, I heard a slam-probably Tony slamming his fist on the table.

Before Fury could respond-or maybe Fury wasn't going to respond to that because-its true Natasha has told me about how she wants him to love her, not like how they loved each other on duty.

"Look-Fury, I understand you think it's bad for agents and members of the worlds, '_supposedly_' greatest heroes to have relationships, but I haven't loved anyone like this in my life! And you or S.H.I.E.L.D is going to stand in the way of my social life!" Tony shouted, his voice was quivering he was obviously mad, and with that I heard his footsteps descend out of the room.

_I'd better motor too…there's no wonder what Tony's temper will do…it's as bad as the Hulk sometimes._

I then scooted back for five minutes, making sure that Fury wouldn't see my dark red war boots as I turned and crawled out of the air duct to check on the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.

* * *

Hours had passed since I squeezed out of the air duct and that huge outburst of anger between Tony and Fury; I was in the hallway of the bedrooms, I was looking for Tony-I had looked for him everywhere, engineering room, the lab, the bedroom, and the control room, nowhere. I was beginning to get stressed out, I mean-where could he be? Fury couldn't have kicked him out and wiped his memory could he? I was crying a little, when I get stressed out I can't help but cry; it's so frustrating.

Once I had lost all hope I went to the control room and walked over to the far right corner and climbed up the ladder that was placed there and went to the top of the ship as it was flying still in the air. I looked at the dawn sky in sorrow I looked at the foggy white clouds and began to worry for a few minutes as a tear fell off my face and fell down below into the earth.

_Why didn't I just stay away from him? Why didn't I just stay the shy awkward person I always was? Why did I help Natasha in the alley way when I could've gone to my art gallery viewing at college? Why, why, why? …_

Once I was about to breakdown I turned my head to the left and leaned down looking at all of the some of the S.H.I.E.L.D agents leaving, taking their breaks. I smirked at the one agent who almost tripped over nothing, as soon as I turned my head to the front and stared at the pale white clouds I heard the latch of the door open from the ladder entrance to the roof, guessing that it might've been the Natasha and Clint.

I then heard the latch close as I was sitting there staring off into space as I heard some footsteps come towards me, it was pretty cold up here, sitting in the cold wind, in the winter time-not the best idea-sure I know that now.

I then smiled as I felt something warm wrapped around my shoulders, a jacket, brown leather-it was Steve.

"What are you doing here Cap?" I ask, trying to make my voice sound somewhat chipper, but apparently Steve saw right through me.

"Don't act happy with me Ali-I know you're upset"

"I'm not upset-just…frustrated and worried"

"Why?"

"I can't find Tony anywhere" I pause then realizing he might've seen him, I turned to him looking into his hazel eyes that were now a beautiful, pale baby blue as he was sitting next to me "Have you seen him?"

"No…I'm sorry, have you checked the lab?"

"Yup, I looked everywhere" I say, admitting defeat by the sound of my voice "I beginning to think that Fury might've kicked him out"

"Why would you think that?" Steve asked, oblivious to the fact that I broke a _huge_ rule-most likely from the recklessness that rubbed off from Tony.

"Because…I listened in on a interrogation with Fury and Tony…and Fury said that if he see's us together then he's gonna kick one of us out, and Tony defended himself rather well…but I haven't seen or heard him since"

Steve was quiet for a few minutes, probably stunned for a minute about the fact that I broke a rule-cause I'm the most responsible person besides Steve.

"Well I'm sure he isn't gone, he couldn't be gone"

I just nodded as I avoided my eyes from him.

"Have you considered that maybe he's avoiding you just in case if he lost the confrontation?"

I frowned at this, I never did give it that much thought-maybe he is, but…why should he? He needs to stand his ground on the attack!

"I haven't" I answer simply, while Steve just smiles.

I then find the courage to look at him without looking away this time, I smiled back at him while my dark brown eyes look at him, I handed him his jacket that he let me borrow and give him a warm hug.

"Thank you" I whisper in his ear.

"You're welcome Ms."

I smirk at his response and stand up, while I help him up.

"But if you do see Tony tell him I need to see him, and tell me if you talked to him-I need to know that he's here"

"Yes Ms."

I smirked at him and opened the latch and slowly and carefully climbed down the ladder with Steve on top of me.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Steve stayed by my side all day, it was nice actually I have no idea why I thought that I couldn't relate to him, we got along pretty well till it got to politics and history, I honestly didn't get into that crap I just nodded and smiled understanding half of what he told me, occasionally he could tell when I didn't understand and he would quit talking about it but I would encourage him to talk about it telling him that it was somewhat interesting. Tony was still nowhere to be found, I tried not to think about it and I was succeeding till alarms blared throughout the ship I whipped my head around while Steve already grabbed his shield and ran down the hallway while I tried to keep up.

"_Avengers assemble in the control room! We have a situation on our hands!_" Fury shouted on the intercom which made my ears ring while I tried to be by Steve's side but it was useless he was already gone. I then let my legs go quicker as I sprinted down the hallway and ran into the control room.

"Okay…" I gasp as I look at Fury and Steve "What…is…it?"

I looked around as I saw the others come in, Thor ran in with his precious hammer in his hands, Clint and Natasha came from the roof area and climbed down the ladder in a flash, while Bruce came in looking bothered by all of the noise while Amelia came in with him calming him down by murmuring something in his ear that made him smile. It was then that I realized that Tony wasn't there, my eyes widened in horror and confusion.

Fury waited for a second and looked at me he seemed somewhat angered at me for some reason and shrugged it off as he calmly blinked as the alarms went off and the lights quit flashing.

"Loki, has taken one of our Avengers prisoner"

"Tony…" I whispered, Fury nodded at me as I looked back down at the ground in horror, I walk over to the steel wall and punch it with my bear hands, which only made me angrier when it pained my knuckles, I groaned.

"_Shit_…" I cried in sorrow as I bumped my head against the wall, I felt a hand on my shoulder, I turned to see who it was-it was Natasha.

"We'll find him" she murmured, she then turned to Fury, her red curls whipping her face "Did the scanner track Loki's whereabouts?"

"Yes we already have that pulled up" he said gesturing his hand toward the holograms at the front, it showed Loki walking nonchalantly in a dark, profound place, once Loki moved to one side I saw Tony in a jail of some sorts cussing him out like crazy and flipping the bird at him.

"He's defiantly fine if he's flipping Loki the bird" Clint muttered, I let out a muffled laugh that was being chocked by my tears and pain.

"What is this flipping-of-the-bird that you mortals speak of?" Thor asked, I smiled at him as Clint rolled his eyes and put his dark purple tinted sunglasses on.

"Not important, Thor" I say as I look back over at the screen Loki was in front of Tony now and was gently but brutally cutting the side of his face with a spear, Tony's right cheek was dripping in scarlet as Loki pressed it into his cheek bone, Tony shrieked in pain as Loki laughed in pleasure.

I couldn't take it anymore; I turned on all of them.

"Your just gonna stand here and watch this?!" I shout, Steve looks at Bruce in worry but he seemed better than what he was a second ago, he and Amelia were holding hands but were hiding it from everyone else's eyes.

"Ali" Steve murmured "The ship is flying to their location we'll be there soon"

I just let out a sigh of desperation as I turn back around to look at Loki smiling in delight as he lets Tony's blood drop to the concrete flooring.

"Where is this?" I ask, not taking my eyes off the hologram.

"Uh…in an abandoned Subway in New York" Amelia informed me, I narrowed my eyes at the screen as I watched Thor's brother again as he left the cell leaving a blood stained Tony lying there in agonizing pain.

"How soon will we be there?" I asked as I saw Fury's black cape brush past me.

"Five minutes exactly" Clint said, I gritted my teeth in anger as I turn around and walked past the rest of the group and go to the landing dock.

* * *

I sat at the very bottom of the ship-the landing dock as I watched in a daze all of the gray clouds form by as the ship made a stop at the very top of NYC; the other Avengers were around me getting prepared for their parachute landing. I already had my Stark tech so I didn't need it, we had to wait for Fury's command to go but I honestly did care anymore my boyfriend was in great pain and Loki needs-scratch that-deserves to die!

I was about to just about to jump when Steve caught my shoulder, I glared at him.

"I know you love him, but you have to wait" the super solider said, lowering his voice so no one could hear.

"The hell with waiting I want to go now!" I whisper back.

Steve flinched when I said hell he obviously didn't like it when women used such language, but I couldn't help it.

"Sorry" I mutter.

"I understand" Steve says leaving me alone in front of the team, while my short hair was whipping in front of my face, then after five minutes of pointless waiting Fury shouted at us to go, I was the first one to jump off the ship my gloves instantly assembling to my command while my boots attached to my war boots that comes with my uniform. Once they were latched on I blasted off into the skies of New York, feeling water droplets blast into my face from the clouds as I made a landing on top of a skyscraper.

"Okay Fury" I say as I wait for the others to fall down to the roof "Where is he?"

"_Wait for the others_"

"_No!_ Where is he? Are we close?"

"_No!_ _Wait_ Agent Henderson!"

"Fury, I need to know-"

"_Wait! That's an order!_"

I bit my lip and frowned at the ground trying to stop all of the curses that were about to burst out of my mouth as I saw Natasha and Clint come down from the parachutes as Steve followed, then Thor with his freaking hammer along with Amelia carrying Bruce in her arms in her angel wings.

Once they landed I walked over to them "Fury won't tell me where they are"

"Did you ask him before we got here?" Natasha asked.

I looked at the ground in embarrassment "Yes"

"There's your answer"

"Fury, where are we going from here?" Clint asked, his bow held tightly in his hands, he still had his shades on as he waited for Fury's response.

"Your actually pretty close to Loki's little clubhouse, get off of the roof and go over to where the abandoned _AIG_ building is and right down there is a subway stairwell , go down it and Loki will have transformed the place thanks to his lackeys" Fury explained, as Clint got out one of his arrows, he punched the button on his quiver three times as the arrow moved to a new position in the quiver and attached to something as Clint ran off to the side of the building and leapt off of it, Natasha seemed rather calm at Clint's stunt, she didn't seem at all worried. Then a grappling hook grabbed onto the concrete side of the building, then the rope tightened indicating that Clint was making his way down, then five minutes later the rope loosened letting the others come down, others meaning Natasha and Steve-I just flew down same with Thor, Amelia and Bruce.

"Okay" I said once Natasha slid down the rope and Clint took the arrow off of the grappling hook "Let's go"

I hate to admit it but we looked like freaking idiots in skin tight uniforms running over to an abandoned subway station, but little did New York know that down there lay an innocent and a killer.

Once we ran down the steps to find Loki and Tony we came to a stop at the subway down below, I looked around; it looked nothing like a subway it looked like a…freaking…Lord of the rings cosplay or something. The concrete walls were cell bars and the railways were gone and replaced with some Asgardian shit.

"Let's split up" Steve said, having full authority on the situation now "If we're in trouble we can call each other"

"Right" we all say in unison, although Amelia didn't leave Bruce's side as they went inside the dark passageways.

I went to the left-where an eerie blue light was being shown from the outside of the walls, then an idea sparked in my mind, I tapped my earpiece.

"Tony? ... Are you there?" I asked, I waited a minute before I heard a tiny groan.

"Tony!" I say my voice full of excitement.

I then heard a chuckle echoing throughout the room, _Loki…_

"You honestly think you can save him? After all I've done to him? How stupid are you mortals?"

"_Where is he?_" I scream, my voice echoing throughout the whole subway, Loki found this quite amusing, for his laugh echoed throughout the entire place.

"_Answer me you coward!_" I shouted, a fire in my eye as I whirl around looking at everything I could lay my eyes on thinking it could kill me.

_Bad move…_

"You dare call me-Loki a God, a coward?" just then a fist jabbed the right side of my face, I let out a cry as I fell to the ground but it didn't stop me, I instantly jumped up ready for more as Loki appeared and reappeared and kept hitting me with his holograms that he used to intimidate me.

"Fight me face to face you bastard!" I scream, then the punches ceased and so did all of the Loki-grams, he never fought me face to face which indicated that he was a coward which thus, proved my point.

Once I got up from the cold ground I walked down the passageway and found the cells that I saw in the holograms video feed.

"Tony?" I say, my voice cracking in sorrow.

I heard a groan.

"Are you okay?"

"Do-_mmm…humph…_" there was a gurgling noise coming from his voice, which puzzled me, but then I remembered.

_The spear…_

I then ran over to where I heard him and stood in front of the prison cell and saw Tony lying there on the concrete floor in half conciseness, dried blood was plastered on the right side of his cheek as he lay there, unmoving.

I then used my repulsor and blasted the steel bars off, grabbing them making sure that they didn't hit Tony, I pulled it off to the side as I walked over to him and knelt down, I tapped my earpiece.

"Guy's I found him"

"Is he dead?" it was Amelia.

"Shut up Amelia!" Clint shouted.

"What? I just asked"

"Is he okay?" Natasha asked me, ignoring their brawl.

"He can respond to me…sort of"

"What do you mean sort of, either he can or he can't"

"He can, just his voice is muffled"

"Praise the lord" I heard Clint murmur.

"Shut the hell up Clint"

"Excuse me, Miss. Widow?"

"Anyway…can he move?" Natasha asked, ignoring Clint's comment.

"No…"

"Okay, well where are you?"

"In the…eerie blue lit room" I say, not knowing what else to call it.

"Okay, I know where you are, we'll be there soon, stay alert"

"Right…" I mutter as she switches off.

I watched Tony in utter happiness but in sheer hatred and worry, will he live? Or is he going to die right next to me? I couldn't bear the thought of him dying, not now…definitely not now…not after all we've been through.

_At least I told him I loved him _I thought in sorrow _if he dies today…I'll know that he knew that I loved him, not that he died knowing that we were 'friends with benefits' …at least he knows…_

I then held his head in my hands as I stroked his dark hair, I looked at his arc reactor in his chest, it was still glowing which meant his heart was still beating, which made me relax a little but what made my heart skip a beat was his shirt, it was slashed-the material was ripped and blood was splattered against the shirt, I shivered, _damn its cold in here…I wish there was some way he could stay warm…_ but before I could come up with some idea of what to do I heard footsteps coming our way, I then kissed Tony's head and checked his pulse, it was beating he was still alive…somehow.

I then watched the other affiliates of S.H.I.E.L.D as they called Fury and let the medical team come down to the subway station and carry Tony to the ship.

* * *

I had many sleepless nights since they took Tony into the emergency room of the medical center part of the ship, there were many centers if you haven't noticed. I was in the emergency room, waiting, waiting for some sort of response from Tony, any sign that indicates that he was alive…anything…I would be at ease, but there was nothing not even a grunt, just the oxygen mask that they provided and live viewings of his arc reactor which was still flowing blood into his veins. I sighed, two days, it had been two days since the time we found Tony bloodstained and dirty on the cell floor, Thor ran into Loki while Natasha and the others were on his way to find me and Tony, and Thor tried to contain him but it was no use he disappeared like he did with me and left his adoptive brother in the darkness. It wasn't that comforting, knowing that somewhere in New York lay a psychopath, I had been awake for two days now and I guess today is number three as I watched Tony's motionless body, it was then I felt a hand on my shoulder I jerked my head up to the owner of the hand, it was Steve.

"Hey" I choked out, my voice was low and scratchy since I hadn't talked to anyone since the rescue, I felt my hair go in front of my right eye blocking Tony's body from my view I just moved my hair with my finger and looked back at him wanting to see any signs of life, none, only the live shoeing of his arc reactor, it was still working, he was just in a coma, I just want him out of it.

"Hey" Steve greeted, obviously worried about me, I could hear it in his voice, he sat down in the seat next to me and looked at me, but I kept my gaze where it has been for days at the recovery bed, at Tony.

"You know…" Steve began, trying to make me look at him by making the intensity in his gaze stronger "You have to sleep to you know"

"I can't leave him" I say, knowing that he wanted me out, just like the medical team did two days ago trying to push me out while I was screaming at them, they slowly began to give up on me and let me stay by his side, Fury was angered by the fact that I was in love with him, when we shouldn't be together at all.

"I know you won't" Steve sighed, he obviously knew that he couldn't change my mind, it was kinda ridiculous even trying to change my mind I'm very stubborn but even though I don't believe in horoscopes I'm like my symbol Taros, the stubborn bull.

"Then why bother trying to make me change my mind?" I ask him, finally turning to face him in my seat "I'm very stubborn and you know it"

"I know…but you need sleep to stay strong"

"You need sleep too"

"I slept for seventy years Ms. I've had my fill"

"Of course" I say, looking back to the bed.

"So…" Steve said, trailing off, I cocked my head at him as I faced him again "You're not going to…?"

"Sleep? No"

Steve sighed and got up and left the room but I heard him mutter under his breath "I was hoping it wouldn't come to that"

* * *

Two hours after my brief conversation with Steve I heard someone walk in, it was Natasha, she had a coffee cup in her hand, I eyed it warily as she walked in, it was obviously drugged even a toddler would know it.

"Hey" Natasha said, sitting down next to me where Steve had sat a few hours ago.

"Hi" I say blandly, eyeing the coffee cup, once I glanced up at Natasha her eyes met mine, her jade eyes were soft and caring, no longer hard and defensive.

"Want a drink?" she offered, handing me the coffee cup, I narrowed my eyes, Natasha jade eyes fought with my glare, she won she's probably won many stare contest seeing how she's a master assassin and all, I mean I'm a spy not an assassin sure Natasha was my mentor but she didn't teach me assassin skills just agent stuff. I drowsily took the cup and set it on the small table on the left of me and leaned back comfortably in my chair, it was drugged.

_But what if it isn't?_ I thought, I then grabbed the cup again and looked down into the shit colored drink, I then spun the cup in a circle and checked to see if I could see the white fizz gurgling inside, and sure enough it was, I narrowed my eyes at the assassin sitting next to me her eyes were full of surprise and humor.

"I thought you'd be too tired to tell" she said simply.

"I may be tired, Nat, but I'm not a total idiot"

Her jade eyes narrowed "I suppose not in your tired state"

* * *

After Natasha's horrible little stunt every Avenger tried to make me get some rest, it never worked but Bruce did his worst.

I was still sitting in my seat looking at the floor now but still just as tired, and still no movement or sound from Tony, I then heard the door being pushed open, I turned my head over to who it was, Doctor Bruce Banner.

"Hello Doctor" I say with complete politeness, Bruce just smiled and I noticed his hands were behind his back, I narrowed my eyes at him.

"What's behind your back doctor? A surprise?" I say tartly, Bruce cringes a little at my comment but keeps his hands there; I then roll my eyes and go back to staring mode.

I heard Bruce's footsteps come toward me, I froze in confusion, _what the hell is he doing? _

I then heard a buzzing noise which rendered me, paralyzed, I froze in my current position and I rolled my eyes over to where Bruce was and saw him with glowing blue earplugs and he had a needle in his hand.

"I'm not going to kill you Ali" Bruce murmurs, I rolled my eyes, _yeah right…_

"This paralyzing lasts for five minutes I just have to wait for four before I inject you with this"

I tried to speak but it was pointless, nothing could come out.

"What is it you ask?" Bruce said with a smirk on his face "Well _this_" he said grazing his finger along the glass tube "Is a serum that will make you fall asleep immediately"

_Fantastic…I guess the avengers earned a point on that…_

After three minutes of waiting Bruce then got his needle ready and leaned over and injected it into my neck, I let out a loud gasp, it was painful but just as I was about to scream in pain but my body collapsed to the floor once Bruce took the needle out of my neck and the world went dark forever.

* * *

My eyes fluttered open to the sound of voices, one was Fury and the other was…familiar, I had heard this voice before…is it?

"Tony?" I muttered, trying to get up, I then heard the conversation stop as I heard footsteps come over to me and open the curtain that separated us in the recovery room.

Fury was the first one to step in and right behind him was Tony with a bandage on his right cheek, he seemed to be in good condition, considering the fact that he almost died.

"Agent Henderson didn't sleep for two days thinking that you weren't going to make it" was all Fury said before he left the room leaving us alone.

Once I heard the door close Tony went over to the bedside and sat down while I got up from the bed, once I combed through my hair with my fingers I turned to him.

"When did you wake up?"

"Yesterday"

"How long was I out?"

The billionaire shrugged "How should I know? I was the one in a coma"

"True"

"I missed you"

"I missed you too"

"So I heard" Tony snorted, as he watched me in amusement as I shoved him.

"You feel okay?"

"Yeah…just a little sore in the stomach though"

"Ah…well let's go"

"Where?"

"I dunno"

Tony chuckled as we left the recovery room together and went down the dark vast hallway of S.H.I.E.L.D's ship.

"Do you remember anything from when we rescued you?" I asked as we walked down the stairs.

"Yeah, I remember talking to Loki, cussing him out, flipping him the bird"

"Yeah I saw that" I say with a chuckle as we take a right turn down some more stairs.

"And…then I was clocked out till I heard your voice asking me if I was okay and I was going to say 'do I sound okay to you?' but that was when I clocked out"

"Yeah…well you're safe now"

"Thank god"

"Amen" I say, with a smile as we went into the engineering room together, as Tony just sat down on his desk while I did the same. We sat in silence for awhile which surprised me, knowing the fact that I had lost sleep just to hear if he was alive and now I don't even know what to say to him, that was stupid.

"So…how did Loki capture you?"

Tony then slid over to me and put his arm around me as I shuffled uncomfortably, since we haven't done this for awhile.

"Ah…well…After Fury's little interrogation thing I left, and…I was pretty pissed so I went outside for some air and while I was outside I saw something moving along the dock of the ship, I got suspicious and walked over to see what was going on and then I saw some of Loki's guards and I was knocked out successfully on the back of the head"

I nodded while I got adjusted under his arm "I know you were pissed after the meeting Tony, I was there"

He looked confused "What do you mean you were…you spied on us didn't you?"

I shyly nodded; Tony looked proud for some reason "You agree with me don't you?"

"All the way, Team Tony!" I say stupidly as I put my hand in the air for a high five which I receive from Iron Man himself.

"Well, I'm rather surprised that you spied on Fury and me, knowing how you're set on rules and stuff"

"Well…I've changed"

"And I like that change in you"

I smirked "Don't even try flattery with me Stark, it's not gonna fly"

"It has before, and you know it agent Henderson"

I smirked and looked down at my dark maroon boots, he was right, it kinda did work when we first met when I was shy and too embarrassed to talk to him because in high school it was a known fact through my friends that I had a fan girl crush on Tony Stark, every one of my friends knew it, it was a known fact.

"See? You admit to it"

"Yeah…I can't keep it a secret much longer" I say, shyly, I then locked my eyes with his "It was a known fact in high school that I had a fan girl crush on you"

"Really?" he said, stunned.

"Yeah, it was pretty damn obvious when I had on an Iron Man T-Shirt"

Tony had to chuckle at that as I blushed and stared at some of the small tech that was lying on the floor, but it was then I noticed something different and intriguing.

"What's that?"

"What's what?" Tony asked, his voice sounding worried all of a sudden.

I got off of the desk and walked over to where I saw a dark red utility belt, I snatched it off of the cloth it was laying next to; I then turned to Tony who was now right in front of me.

"What's this?" I asked with a smile, Tony looked scared at the fact that I had found what must've been a surprise project.

"Is this a utility belt for me?" I asked, Tony then swiped it out of my hands.

"Yes, but it was _supposed_ to be a _surprise_"

"Oh, well too bad Stark I already ruined it" I say with a chuckle while Tony just gives me one of his signature smirks.

"I just need to put some Stark weaponry in the pockets of them and your ready…oh and I have to put in your S.H.I.E.L.D symbol…the phoenix"

I felt my eyes brighten to my name "Yeah…the phoenix…"

"You really like the name they gave you don't they?"

"Yeah"

"A bit too much"

"Shut up Stark, you love your name and you know it"

"Well, Iron Man isn't exactly what it's made of its made of a titanium alloy, so it's not really Iron so it's technically wrong"

"Nothing's ever perfect enough for you Stark"

"Because I'm perfect so everything in the world has to be perfect around me" he states grabbing my utility belt.

"Well thank you for the belt" I say eyeing it in his hands.

"You're welcome" he mutters looking it over, I then snatch the belt out of his hands and set it on the working desk and give him a quick kiss.

Once I broke away I told him.

"And that was for coming back"

Tony looked at me his eyes full of longing "I should be in a coma more often"

I laugh and let him go and watch him work on the belt as smile to myself thanking god that he let him live through Loki's wrath.


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey! sorry i havent updated this in a few weeks...i felt like quitting and school got pushed into the picture :/ so...yay! xD ummmms...This story is almost over just one more Chapter...and the battle is over but a new Story begins in the sequel to Return-Broken...**

Chapter 18

I was in the bedroom part of the ship, brushing through my hair and taking occasional naps while I was waiting for Fury, Natasha or Clint to call me on the earpiece or tablet telling me to go do something. Which I hadn't been called down for anything for awhile which was a bit unusual but nothing out of the ordinary as I tapped my earpiece and called Tony, maybe something's up and I missed it.

"Yellow"

"Yeah-Hey Tony…" I didn't even get to ask him anything Tony already was talking on top of me.

"Ali?"

"Yeah…? What's going on?"

"Ali…there's some weird things going on in New York…didn't Amelia tell you?"

"No, and what weird things?"

"Loki things"

"Oh nice"

"Extremely"

"But that doesn't answer my question, you mean alien invasion? ...what?"

"Not necessarily an alien invasion but a Loki-vasion"

"Oh, lovely jolly good show" I say, assembling my gloves and boots while we're talking.

"Jolly? What are you? British?"

"Nah, just messing with you" I say as I opened the door and walked down the hallway, hearing the titanium clink and clank as I marched down the hall.

"So…are you in New York yet?" I asked, I heard Tony snort.

"No…Fury won't let us go, saying we don't have evidence of Loki's wrath when it's all over the news, but we're all getting suited up…I have your belt ready for you"

"Good, I'll be there in a jiffy" I say as I jumped and let the boots and gloves do their job…letting me fly.

"So…" I say as I flew down the stairs, my short hair tickling my face as I did so "when you said a Loki-page…what do you mean?"

"Loki, terror, blowing up stuff, it's a freaking rampage Ali"

"Ah, gotcha" I say as I make a landing in front of the engineering room door.

I then punch in my code and opened the door, Tony had a…doohickey and was connecting wire with it and making electric surge through them. He had on a black T-shirt which made his arc reactor glow a lot, and he had on some tinted goggles to protect his eyes while he was working on his Iron Man mask.

"So…Fury won't let us go and save the earth?" I asked him, my hands on my hips.

"No…" Tony's voice trailed off as he went further into his work.

"Why don't we just go now?"

"That's what we're all planning to do here soon"

"Alright, did you get my belt done?" I asked him, as Tony's eyes flickered in my direction.

"Huh? Oh-yeah there over there" he said quickly pointing his doohickey over at the desk that we sat on yesterday.

"Alright, thank you"

"You're welcome, Ms. Henderson"

I smirked at him as I walked over to the desk and picked up the dark red belt I then studied it for a moment it was pretty nice, actually, I then looked at the front and there, was a circular honey golden emblem of a flaming phoenix crying in war. The phoenix however was a flaming red, orange and a tiny tint of blue, just like the symbol they gave me.

I felt my eyes sparkling in wonder as I stared at in the light.

"Wow…" I breathed.

"I had a feeling you would like it" he said from behind me, I turned.

"Yeah…it's awesome; I didn't know you knew how to paint"

"I didn't paint it, Jarvis painted it"

"Oh…makes more sense"

Tony chuckled "Thanks, nice to know that you don't think I'm an artist"

"You're welcome"

Tony rolled his eyes and walked over to his mask "Well, I'm all ready…where's Amelia? I heard Bruce say something was wrong with her earlier before you came in"

"I'll call her" I tell him as I open the door for some quiet.

I tap my earpiece "Amelia…Amelia! I know your listening…answer me!"

Silence

"…Ali…"

"Amelia! Come on we have to go!"

"…I'm not going"

"Amelia! You're coming with us! Don't talk like that! This is what we've been training for!"

"…No…I'm not going with Bruce"

"Amelia…" I sighed "You have to put your relationship problems aside and fight for the innocent who can't fight for their lives!"

"…Alright…but it doesn't change anything…"

"Okay, where are you Amelia?"

"…In…the lab"

"Okay" I say as I switch her off, and fly down the hallway to go check on her and see if everything was okay.

* * *

Once I made it to the lab I noticed that all of the lights were off except for one single light which was at Bruce's desk, I narrowed my eyes as I punched in my code and slipped in, I then scanned the area for a moment and then I heard a test tube clink, I whirled around towards the sound.

"Amelia?" I say, softer now.

"Ali…don't come near me"

"Why? What's wrong?"

"I'm not…normal…"

"What do you mean you're not 'normal'?"

"Just as I said I'm not normal now go away!"

I ignored her order and slowly walked over to where I heard her voice.

"Stay away!" I heard her screech as I heard a thumping noise.

"Amelia? Are you…okay?" I asked, sounding confused.

"_Stay away from me!_" Amelia repeated, I then saw her shadow whiz by me in the dark and I saw that she had her wings on.

"Amelia!" I say grabbing her wrists before she could hide somewhere else "Calm down…its okay if you're an angel…it doesn't scare me…or anyone else here, I think it's beautiful and amazing"

"That's what Bruce said" Amelia hissed, reaching for the light switch "But I told him I wanted to be normal so he came up with a serum that would make these idiotic things leave my back, but…there was a problem and now they're here to stay!"

Amelia then switched the lights on so I could finally see why she was hiding, she was in her War Uniform and her wings were wrapping around my back as she shut her eyes waiting for me to say how terrifying she looks, but they weren't terrifying they were beautiful.

"There's no reason to hide who you are, Amelia"

Amelia just smooched her lips out indicating that she was irritated, but I went on.

"And these…" I say stroking one of her feathers "Aren't terrifying there beautiful, and I wish I could have them"

Amelia rolled her eyes at me but let me go and let me leave the lab and walked down the hallway with her wings following.

We walked in silence for a few minutes before Amelia broke the silence.

"Ready to go into war?" she asked, still trying to hide her wings from view.

"Yeah…I think"

"What do you mean you think? This is what we were trained for, just like you said"

"I know…but I'm just worried if this will be the last time I see and talk to you, Natasha, Tony and…just all of you!"

"We'll be okay" Amelia soothed, I just swallowed, _God please protect me in this bloody hell…protect me god…_

Once we were walking down the steps, our earpieces went off.

"_Avengers Assemble in the jet!_" it was Natasha.

I looked at Amelia, she seemed scared for a minute but it immediately drained away from her face as she flew down the hallway her hands on her war knives, as usual as I let my boots fly me down to the loading dock.

* * *

Once me, and Amelia made it down to the loading dock we met Natasha, Clint, Steve, Thor, Bruce and Tony. Bruce looked at Amelia in sorrow as she glared at him and whipped her head in the other direction; Tony looked at me in confusion and mouthed 'who dropped leeches in her pants?'

I smirked at him, _he would want to get into her pants_, I then mouthed back 'they broke up dumb-ass'

Tony looked at Bruce in sorrow and then stepped inside the jet with Bruce following and the rest of the team.

Once I made it inside I glanced around the huge sized jet, Natasha and Clint were already up-front, they put on their earpieces and buckled up, once they did that they didn't even wait for us to be prepared they already flew off into the sky then after a few minutes I saw Tony was assembling his suit, I saw Natasha glance back at us and she flipped a switch, which allowed the back door to swing open.

"If you guys want to fly off into New York go ahead! We'll meet you guys there!"

I glanced at Tony in worry, he was already done assembling his suit, the mask clanked together and began to boot up, we then walked over to the opening and stared at the clouds for a moment.

"Are you ready for this?" Tony asked me, I flinched; _no…I'm scared…_

I turned to him, ignoring the confused looks we got from the other Avengers.

"I'm scared…" I say, my voice cracking, realizing that those may be my last words that utter out of my mouth.

The Iron Man mask was still staring at me its glowing blue eyes shining in the sunlight.

"Just stay close to me" he says as he jumps off of the jet, while I do the same.

As I fell into the sky I shut my eyes, knowing that the wind could possibly blow my eyeballs out of there socket, I then let the energy burst from the gloves and boots as I let myself fly into the sky, a few minutes later I saw Tony by my side.

We didn't say anything through the traveling part of the journey; we just stayed silent as we flew into New York.

Once we were in eye view I saw buildings and scaffoldings alike being blown up by Loki and some of his minions.

I sighed in fear as I looked at all of the civilians running away from the line of fire, I saw one child trying to run away from one of Loki's blasts but it was too fast for the kid to dodge.

"There's my Q" was all I said before I flew down at warp speed and grabbed the little girl and swopped her away from the line of fire.

I felt a burst of heat come from behind me as I dodged the blast of blue flame.

I set the girl down and didn't even say a word as I walked over to where the violence was taking place; I then saw Tony come in, shooting Stark mini missile's at the minions as they bounded backwards in surprise, but leaving them scared and bloody on the outside regardless of how they dodged it.

I then saw the jet from S.H.I.E.L.D land and I saw Natasha get out her gats and began to shoot out the arising attackers that were coming towards her as Clint began to shoot arrows at the upcoming attacker from Natasha's behind. And then Steve and Thor were attacking the pursuers with Steve's shield and Thor's hammer.

I then flew over to where Natasha and Clint were and in the middle of punching one guy in the face I leaned back so they could hear me over the battle cries.

"Where's Amelia and Bruce?" I shouted, as I knocked one guy out with my repulsor.

"Bruce is hulking out while Amelia…I don't know what's happening with her"

I just went back to battle as I saw more men coming our way I ran towards them and lunged to the ground and then lifted my legs up into the air and spun my body around and made my legs go out straight to my sides as the men tripped and fell.

"How's that for a girl?" I jeered as I stuck my hands out and ordered my gloves to let out the flamer fuel.

"Flamer!" I ordered.

My gloves instantly obeyed as tiny little shooters appeared on the sides of my gloves and then flames began to burst out of my gloves as I spun around doing a fire dance in front of the men that were circling me.

I heard the men cry out in pain of the flames that were burning their bodies and blistering them in third degree burns as I kept twirling. Once I thought that they had been cooked I then ordered the flamer to close as it did that I saw the burning corpses fall before me.

Once I had killed them I saw the other round of men coming towards me, I gritted my teeth as I ran over to the light pole that they were next to and grasped my arms onto it as I leaped to it, I then spun my body around as I let the jets burn their faces and make them fall to the ground burning there retinas and melting their lips together.

I then heard someone behind me I ultimately jumped and turned around my gloves in front as I turned to see my pursuer, Amelia.

"Oh…thank god it's you" I gasp.

Amelia smiles and walks over to me "Your getting into the battle aren't you?"

I furrowed my eyebrows at her "What do you mean?"

Amelia narrowed her eyes "Really? Look at all of these guys" she said waving her hand to all the men I had killed so far, they were all burned, and or burning.

"Huh…yeah…sorry"

"No it's good that there dying a lot quicker but…we need to find Loki, Thor's too busy smashing everything with his hammer to even care"

"Alright then" I say getting my gloves supped up for flying mode "Lets fly"

Amelia flapped her feathery wings and soared into the sky while my boots shoot me off into the air.

"So where did you see him?" I asked her as we soared over the battle.

Amelia shrugged "I didn't see him but…I'm gonna guess that he's in Stark Towers like last time, but who the hell knows?"

I nodded in agreement as we came to a halt in front of what was the Avengers' home as I squinted my eyes and scanned the area, no sign of reindeer games.

"He isn't in Stark Towers" I informed her, Amelia narrowed her eyes at me.

"Maybe he is inside and we just can't see it, let's have a closer look shall we?" Amelia offered grabbing my wrists and flying me over to the balcony part of the building.

Once we made a landing on the balcony I scanned the area as we walked into the bar corner of the Tower, I heard Amelia's wings make a loud thumping noise as she flapped them slowly while landing, I quickly turned to her and then turned back around and entered the bar, I glanced over shadily at the room, no one here.

"He's not here Amelia"

I flinched when I heard an explosion outside, I looked out of the window, Steve and Clint were evacuating the innocent men, women and children and guiding them to safety. While some of Loki's possessed minions were chasing after them, shooting at them with some alien weapon.

I let out a shaky breath, this is too scary for me to deal with, but I have to-why else would Natasha forced Fury to give me a chance since she saw something special inside me? I then saw Tony flying in the sky shooting some alien enemies off his tail, I glared at one of them as they got hold of his boot, Tony was shaking his titanium leg while flying trying to shake him off but it had a firm grasp.

"Hang on Amelia" I say as I walk over to the balcony, I then lift up my right hand and stare at my glove.

"Missile!" I order, the side attachment of the glove then lifted up showing different kinds of Stark mini missiles.

I targeted it to the attacker on his leg and shot one lone missile out, the tiny missile kept it right on target once if hit the alien flesh it exploded leaving pieces of guts on the red and gold suit.

"Thanks agent Henderson" I heard Tony say instantly after the alien exploded, I smiled as I watch him fly away from eye-view.

"You're welcome; you needed some help, there"

"I know"

"Have you seen Loki?" I asked him as I walked off the balcony and went back inside to meet Amelia, only to find her gone, I whipped around in confusion.

"Amelia!" I shout.

"Can you be any _louder_ Ali?" Tony asked, I blushed.

"Sorry…"

"And-no…I haven't seen him, well I did right when we went into battle but he just…was gone"

"Well we need to find him"

"Yeah well I need to fight off enemies you're on your own"

"Alright fine be that way Stark"

"Hey, Ali?"

I huffed "What?"

"…you still owe me"

I smiled, feeling the heat rush to my face in embarrassment and my stomach flutter in arousal.

"Once this battle is over I'll show you what pain is" I say, trying to make my voice as seductive as I could get.

"Can we do it now?" he asked, I laughed.

"Yeah, I don't think New York is gonna appreciate that or S.H.I.E.L.D"

"The hell with S.H.I.E.L.D, I want you"

"So do I" I breathe, I could just smell his cologne on him, I just wanted this battle to be over "Look I got to go look for Amelia; I can't talk now you have aliens to kill and I have people to find"

"Right, see you in bed"

I rolled my eyes, "Bye Stark"

"Bye Sketches"

Once we were finished talking I called Amelia "War Angel where are you?"

Nothing but static.

"You know Ali" said a voice, it was Natasha "all of the Avengers-even S.H.I.E.L.D can hear your conversations…we really didn't want to hear your sex call"

I blushed hardcore, I forgot about that "Oh…huh…sorry" I say as I run outside and fly up to the ceiling.

"Listen Nat" I say, wanting her to forget the sex call "Have you seen Amelia?"

It was quiet for a moment, nothing was said, I then jerked when I saw Hulk leaping in the sky punching enemies while in the air.

_Crazy green bastard_ I thought as I flew over top of his rampage, Natasha was still silent it began to worry me as I stop in midflight.

"Nat?"

Static.

I frowned and looked down on the battle field and decided to look for Tony, he did say for me to stay close to him, and maybe he's seen Amelia, I blasted off into the sky as I took a curved right turn past some business that came crashing down next to me, I shut my eyes, avoiding the rubble that came flying towards me, it was then I felt something crash into me.

I opened one eye as I saw that an alien hovercraft basically ran over me, I glared as I sent one missile flying leaving the alien in an exploded rain of guts, blood and brains.

"Tony?" I called through the earpiece, he had to be here.

"Yup?"

"Where are you…?"

"Uh…near…some freaking building I dunno"

"Well have you seen or heard from Nat just now?" I asked as I flew towards where I saw the explosions.

"No…why did something happen?" he asked, I sighed.

"Yeah…I think she might've been ambushed"

"Fantastic" Tony said his voice dripping in sarcasm; I just rolled my eyes and nodded.

"Yeah" I said echoing his sarcasm.

"Well…I'll come to you, where are you?" he asked, right when he said that I saw his suit fly out to the front of a skyscraper.

"Far right" I say, I then saw his suit turn around.

"Well that was convenient"

"Yeah" I chuckle, as I saw the suit fly towards me, I stood in the air waiting for him to stop in front of me.

"So you haven't seen Natasha or Amelia?"

"No, where do you think they went?"

"I don't know, maybe Saudi Arabia-what am I a hound dog that can track there scent?" I say sarcastically.

The Iron Man shrugged "Thought I'd ask"

"Well don't" I say, turning my head to the foes which were slowly diminishing.

"Regardless-we need to find them, what if Loki has them captured somewhere?"

"Right, we can't fall for any of his little games" I snarl as I saw another building fall to the streets of Manhattan.

"Good lord, I don't want to do community service" I heard Tony mutter as I just laugh.

"Well we need to find Window and Angel" I tell him the metal mask turns to me and nods vigorously.

"Right we need to split-"

"No, were not splitting up" I say flying closer to him "That's how we'll lose each other"

My lips were close to his helmet when I said that, I glanced over top of my head realizing that a newscaster had their camera pointed right at us, I flew back a few inches once I realized how personally close I was getting.

"When need to find them, _now!_" I say, flying off into the sky, smiling when I saw Tony beside me as we took a turn into the dark streets of New York.

* * *

Once we had gone to the darker, deeper streets of New York me and Tony had a hell of a time looking for Amelia and Natasha. We both landed in the middle of an alleyway, I turned to Tony, whose mask flied upward revealing his face. The alleyway was dark and tiny droplets of water were falling on the cold cement ground, I turn to Tony my eyes possibly giving away my fear.

"Tony…"

Before Tony could say anything a black blur whirled behind him, I let out a squeak of fear as I whirred by me, my hair was flipping in front of my face as I turned on my repulsor's and aimed at where I thought the random attacker was, but I shot a dumpster which exploded sending trash flying everywhere onto the cement and on my suit and Tony's as well.

"Gross…" I moan as I flick some maggot covered shit off of my uniform, then I heard Tony scream for only a second then it was cut off. I whirled around and almost cried when I realized he was gone, I whipped from side to side, searching, hoping that he didn't just disappear.

"Tony!" I shout, there was no reply, I flinched when I felt a firm grasp of hands on my hips, I kicked backward and hit the attacker in the crotch-to my satisfaction it was a man, he groaned in pain as I darted off down the alley, but it was a lost cause, there were more of Loki's servants blocking my path, I narrowed my eyes and smiled.

_This will be fun…_

I quickly did the splits on the ground and sent my legs flying causing the men who were circling around me to fall and hit their heads on the pavement, causing blood to be splattered against the pavement like paint that was spilled carelessly onto the ground.

To my anger I felt two strong arms grab my own and wrap them behind my back while my sight turned black from a cover, I gritted my teeth in anger as the man dragged me to another place…another world, hell maybe even to the Matrix.

* * *

The sheet was uncovered from my face as I found myself cuffed onto some strange cold metal seat, the room I was in was dark, and had a dank dusty smell, I then heard a familiar voice.

"All we need is the solider, and then all of the Avengers will be hopeless as their precious earth bows down before me"

"Loki…" I growl, I then jerked my head forward as I heard more familiar voices.

"Ali!" it was Natasha.

"Nat! Where the hell are we?" I ask her, she should know she _is_ an assassin anyway, she knows her way around every country and every city.

"Silence!" Loki snarled, some light came into the room as I saw the seven of us were in a circle we were all tied up in some special way to where there was no escape.

"You shut up Loki!" I snapped, my eyes widened, _I can't believe I had the courage to do that…_

I then saw Loki's face emerge from the darkness, he had on some stupid Asgardian helmet that made him look like a reindeer but for all I know he probably thought he looked sexy in it, and he for one is definitely not sexy.

"You dare….A mortal….tell a god, as I to shut up? You have no right…"

"Silence brother" Thor's voice boomed from across the room, his beloved hammer was on the ground close to his fingers, and idea sparked into my head, I glanced over at Tony, his eyes were glued onto the floor, he looked like he had truly given up, I tried moving my hands but they were chained above my head so there was no point, I made a hissing sound trying to make him look over.

I worryingly looked over at where Loki was, he was still talking to his brother, and most likely giving away his 'master plan' to the god damned earth. I moved my legs that were also chained and shook them, Tony then glanced over but so did the others I cursed silently to myself as Loki turned in confusion.

Loki slowly walked over to me; I then noticed that a spear was in his hands, I swallowed.

_Great…I'm screwed…_

Loki was right in front of my face, his lips close to mine I tried moving backward but it would only cause the contraption holding me to fall backward, I heard Tony struggling to attack Thor's brother.

"Loki if you lay a finger on her I swear, you will be dead!" he shouted, Tony's voice was shaking-he was pissed.

Loki's blue eyes sparked in mischief "What? You mean…like _this_?"

Loki grabbed his spear tightly in both hands and jabbed the left side of my face, causing blood to squirt out onto Loki's green medieval crap clothes, I heard a few chains tighten from the ones who looked away at my pain, my sorrow…and my pure anger that was about to burst.

I smiled ruefully at the predator in front of me, _time to seduce…_

I made my voice sound as husky as I could for a voice such as mine, I don't exactly have a high voice for a girl…it's more like a young boys voice, which is irritating but I make it work.

"Loki…" I tried to ignore Tony's face, from what I could make out from the corner of my eye he seemed truly deceived, surprisingly Loki took a step closer than what he was before, our lips were brushing now, I was about to barf.

I made the seduction and love leave my eyes immediately as I lifted my eyes up to his.

"Think fast" I warn as I threw my head forward banging his precious helmet, I then look over to Thor who was watching in utter surprise, while Loki was taking a few steps backward.

"Thor, throw your hammer!"

Thor instantly let his hammer come to his hand as he reared his arm as far as it could go as the hammer flew a short distance, but far enough to get to Loki's neck, Loki let out a gasp and squeak of surprise as the hammer made him fall backward and stayed on his throat allowing him to stay there on the ground.

"Natasha" I say calmly, her head jerked up "If you will please"

Natasha then lifted her knees up which had a gun holster on her left thigh, she grabbed it with her teeth and the grabbed it with her fingers, shot off the chains that were securing her and did the same with ours as we were set free.

The seven of us then walked over to Loki our gazes hard as Thor grabbed some handcuffs of the table close by and handcuffed his brother and took the hammer off of his throat.

"Well that's a wrap" Tony announced as Thor flew out of the room with his hammer, his brother in his firm grip of his left hand.

"Maybe not" I mutter, Natasha glances over at me in confusion.

"What do you mean Ali?"

"Well…I'm not sure; don't we have to clean up? Talk to the press, all of the jazz?"

Amelia walked over, her wings fluttering a little when she responded "I wouldn't think so, but who knows?"

"War Angel has a point" Clint agreed "We might have to-well we meaning you guys minus us, we have reputations to live for here"

"I understand you guys, your master assassin's…you have to stay low, me-I don't have to, I'm just a spy-nothing more" I say starting to walk away while the others were following.

"Your much more than that" Tony muttered under his breath, I glanced over at him, we've kept our 'relationship' hidden long enough, time to get into the spotlight.

"Oh screw it" I announce, as the others look at me confused, I walked over to the billionaire and kissed him once more, this time with a crowd-and thank god this place want well lit or else I'd be a regular Rudolph.

"About time" I heard Natasha mutter once I broke away from him, I glare at her.

"What the hell Nat you knew the whole time-you and Clint"

Natasha shrugged; I shook my head and looked over at the somewhat confused Tony.

"Um…okay that wasn't completely random at all"

"No of course not" I fake assure him as the rest of the group trail behind, once we finally left the random building we realized it was the abandoned subway, and we were crowded by the citizens of New York as Clint, Natasha and Amelia made a run for it me and Tony shouldered our way past the hundreds of thousands of people as we tried to make it back to Stark Towers and meet up there with the rest of the group.

**Thanks for reading! :) (3 more months till Iron Man 3!) SQUEE!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Thanks guys for reading this and faving and following! if you like this please look at my pro every weekend to see if i have Broken submitted because for some who might not've read its the second book of this! :)**

**I do not own the Avengers, The Avengers Speech, or any stores that i have mentioned in the story but i do own Ali Lee Ann Henderson! she is my character in this story ;D**

Chapter 19

Once me and Tony had finally made it back to Stark Towers, the other Avengers were there, Bruce was there as well his pants were ripped and…rather…short on him, but anyways the rest of them were there except for Thor who had taken Loki back to Asgard and this time to stay. We discussed all of the things that had happened, and about what the citizens wanted us to do.

Give a speech.

Yeah right! Like I'm gonna do that! Or anyone of us for that matter, if you haven't noticed I'm not the best with public speeches here. Well I'm sure Tony would be fine with it, he's done that sort of thing before-speaking of the billionaire he hasn't forgotten what I promised him…the freaking 'sleepover' is still deeply engraved in his mind, if it has to do with…you know he's into it-no question.

"Look" I say, pouring a glass of wine "I understand the public is happy that we saved their freaking lives, _again_ I might add, but speeches aren't important-what's important is that we protect the earth-not waste our time on petty speeches"

Tony smirked as I walked over to stand beside him; he wrapped his arm around my waist.

"I'm so glad you feel that way-in that case you do it"

I froze.

"Say what now?"

"You obviously know what's important and all that other crap so you're doing the freakin' speech"

I gaped at him "Excuse me, do I look like I'm comfortable talking to strangers? Remember when we first met?"

Tony crossed his arms and rolled his eyes and sighed "Yes it was hell…"

"Then do you think I should talk in front of these large…butt full of people!?" I question, I noticed that the rest of the group was enjoying our little spat. Natasha and Clint were covering up there smiles with their hands, Amelia and Bruce were both looking rather bemused while Steve was grinning at us-obviously glad that things were going so well.

"Yup" Tony replied as he leaned over next to my ear, his facial hair tickling my face as he did so.

"And you still owe me…" he whispered, his voice sounding so seductively-I was tempted to take his hand and leave the room no questions asked but I didn't I just let him leave me at that while I thought over what I was going to say at this pointless assembly New York had set up for the Avengers.

* * *

The citizens of New York had obviously gone all out with this, balloons, kids with T-shirts that had our logos on them, I didn't see any girl with my logo on it, which made me feel like I hadn't saved the world like I should have. They civilians had made a huge stage for us to stand on while I made my speech, Steve was with us along with Tony and that was it, no one else could come without their cover being blown-we have too many assassins here if you haven't noticed.

I was in a red dress, of course I mean I made it quite clear I love red a bit too much, it was just plain and simple-I really didn't know what to wear to this, I've never made a speech only when I was a senior for a band banquet, and that was bloody hell. My voice cracked every so often, it always does that when I'm nervous, but I straightened up as I remembered that I'm with friends here, and I'm not going to be laughed at.

Once the microphones were adjusted and ready, the man who had made this entire crappy performance, gave us a thumbs up and Tony was the first one to walk up and introduce me to the world, I held my breath as he walked up to the podium. Tony cleared his throat and waited for the cheers of his name to stop and the crowd slowly went into silence the only sound was the occasional coughs.

"This woman who has come to make this speech is a…" Tony paused for only a second before adding "Close friend of mine" I shut my eyes, _way too close I might add…_ "And she was one of the most amazing people I think I've ever met in my entire life; if it wasn't for her I probably would have been afraid to peruse this battle"

I felt my eyes brighten and began to heat up from the tears about to escape my eyes, but I just smiled as I saw a few people look at me, I could feel my face turn as red as my dress, as I prepared myself to walk up to the podium.

"So, New York I'm pleased to introduce my friend Ali Henderson" Tony introduced and also, ended, while extending his hand to meet mine, I gave him a nervous smile as I shakily walked up to the podium to meet him, I let in another intake of air. I grabbed Tony's hand shakily and his firm grip met my weak one, he leaned in next to my ear.

"You're fine Ali, you can do it"

"I'm not sure I can do this"

Tony didn't answer me, he just smirked and walked off to stand next to Steve, I let out another loud sigh as I walked up to the microphone that stood firmly on the podium, I eyed the entire population of New York, I could feel my eyes turn round.

_Damn that's a lot of people…_

I cleared my throat and swallowed before beginning my speech; I grabbed the sides of the podium and squeezed them hard to try and relive my tension.

"The world grew colder and harsher, sinking down into the waves of darkness, never to return" I began, my gaze sweeping across the crowd, I saw a little boy on most-likely, his dads shoulders in a Captain America uniform, I held back a smile before going on.

"We were drowning under the weight of all of our sorrows and cries, the sounds of our hearts shattering under a battle axe. We sank further and deeper into that darkness, like panicked animals in a swamp, sinking ever deeper the harder we fight" I took a breath and went on "Why should we fight when there is no hope? Why must we linger in this place of evil when we could run away? Our world is ending, falling into the dark. Why not let it end? Why fight against it when our destiny has already been determined? Why must we try when no one else will?" I asked the crowd as some of the young teenagers eyes brightened in wonder, trying to figure out what the answer was. So I answered for them.

"Well, our answer remains and will forever remain unchanged; we fight because we must. When everyone else cowers and hides their faces from the truth, when there are no others willing to face that evil, we are the ones who draw our arms and shout: we will not bow down! We will fight until we are broken and on the floor, and even then we will find the will to go on! In our hearts, we will find our strength. In the dark of night, we will find the last spark of hope"

I took in another shaky breath of air and went on with more expression in my voice than ever.

"Find something to hold onto a loved one, a beloved place, anything that connects to you and keep that with you. Use it to fuel your courage, and the fire that scorches in all of your hearts, the same as it does in my own! Fight for the ones you love, the ones you would die to protect!" I said raising my voice to get the point across in everyone's mind, I let out my last intake of breath and ended it with this.

"I have never asked more of you, than what I am asking you now. We might not make it through the night, but I am telling you now that I would rather die today than watch this world burn. We are the world's last defense. We are her champions her protectors!"

I smiled as I ended the speech with this, throwing my fist up in the air.

"_We are the world's last Avengers!_"

Once I threw my fist down and slammed it on the podium the whole population of New York screamed and whistled in approval, I smirked at them as I looked back at Steve and Tony. Steve gave me a small smile and a thumbs up and mouthed 'I couldn't have said it better myself.'

I glanced over at Tony who just mirrored my smirk right back and gave me a thumbs up as well, his shades covering up his expression as I tried to make out if he was happy with it or not.

I turned back to the crowd who was still cheering and leaned into the microphone.

"Thank you New York!"

I waved them goodbye and I then gave a girl a big smile when I saw that she had on a Phoenix T-shirt, I grinned at her as she waved excitedly over at me, and I waved back and mouthed a 'thank you.'

Once I walked over to Steve and Tony I glanced at both of them for a second, I noticed that Tony was looking irritated on how long this was taking, I was itching to make it longer by doing something idiotic but I was too self-conscious to just irritate him.

"Well…let's go" I ordered waving them to move as we left the entire population of New York in peace.

* * *

It had been at least five hours since the speech and it was around five o'clock here in New York, I was bored and I wanted something to do. I was busy watching videos on the internet about what reporters thought about my speech, and so far all I heard was rather good reviews and it my heart soar.

I flinched when I heard my tablet hum.

I tapped the IM icon.

**Where are you? Tony**

I smirked and typed back.

**In the entertainment room, why? Getting an itch? ;)**

He replied back seconds later.

**Hell yes**

I left him at that as I went back to videos, I got bored with it and began to play some music, I searched Grooveshark looking for a decent song to listen to while I got some wine, and then smiled when I saw one of my favorite songs appear on the most played list.

Suit and Tie by Justin Timberlake.

I greedily tapped the song and listened to it while I walked over to the bar and got a bottle of wine from the cabinet.

I had my back to the TV as I was pouring a cup, my eyes on the cup nothing else as I sang horribly with the song.

I clenched my teeth twice when I heard soft footsteps enter the room; I stopped pouring my drink and took a quiet sip as the smooth glass hit my lips.

"You know I can hear basically everything Stark" I comment as I hear the billionaire come closer to me.

"I was hoping it was a sneak attack"

"Well you failed, sorry, try again tomorrow" I say taking another sip of my wine, I felt an arm go under mine as it took the alcohol out of my fingers; I whirled around once it was out of my hand.

"Hey!" I shout, as Tony set it gently on the bar, I eyed him over, _what the hell does he want?_

"You still owe me"

"Oh…" I say goofily "Repayment" I remind myself as I walk up to him, and put my hands on his shoulders.

"Yeah" he says his eyes going to slits "Repayment" his voice going quiet as he pressed his lips against mine forcefully.

_Well… _I thought _I may not be the strongest super hero, the best drawer, the best writer… but at least I found love…regardless of the age difference I think it works and I don't gave a rats ass anymore…_

I kissed him back as he puts his hands on my hips and picks me up as I let out a squeal and he takes me down the hallway, to my door, and into my bedroom, and well…of course you know what happens then…another, heated and most lovely, one night stand.


	20. Epilogue

Epilogue

I was walking down the hallway with a coffee cup in my hands as my black heels were clicking against the tiled floor. It had been three months after the Returning Battle, Loki was taken back to Asgard with Thor, Natasha and Clint is back in S.H.I.E.L.D business. And Bruce…well who knows where he went, he's always running from the General-regardless of S.H.I.E.L.D's restraints, Amelia is…well, let's just say she's protecting a certain someone.

I took a right turn and walked down the stairwell.

What am I doing now you ask? Well I went back to my apartment in New York-naturally; Fury didn't see any point in my spy skills of course, because I suck obviously. But then I got a long distance call from Malibu, yeah you guessed it; I'm Stark's freaking assistant.

I typed my code in on the glass before opening the door holding the coffee in my hands still.

I walked over to Tony's desk full of computers and engineering equipment. I'm sure some of you are wondering why I took this job, and no not for what you're thinking.

One, I need a job and let's face it, he's a billionaire, big checks-it's a no-brainer.

Two, I haven't been to a beach in a long time-it's freaking Malibu, I think I'm gonna take the job.

I placed the mug on his desk before spinning on one heel and walking off, but of course Tony won't let me leave without pushing my buttons.

"Thank you Ms. Henderson"

I stood with my back to him as I smiled and answered.

"You're welcome Mr. Stark" I then whirl around "Anything else?"

Tony put his hand on his chin for a minute as if in deep thought and then turned around in his chair and put his elbows on the table.

"Well, if you could _kindly_ consider the _small_ gesture of sex maybe that'll be all"

I walked up to face him and leaned over so I could be at eye level.

"I'm working; I'm not getting paid to have sex-that's being a prostitute"

Tony's eyes brightened "Since when did that stop you?"

"Just now"

"You're no fun"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah I'm a party pooper" I scoff as I turn around and make my way to the door.

"You know you want it"

"I know I don't" I answer immediately, opening the door and walking up the stairs leaving him to quite possibly fantasize about 'doing it.'

I walked over to the assistants table and saved the schedule I had planned for Tony tomorrow, no more big breaks now, time to go back to work. I flinched when I heard the phone ring, I quickly grabbed the phone.

"This is Stark Mansion, home of Tony Stark-Alisha, Tony's assistant speaking" I say leaning my head to one side so I could hold the phone while reaching to grab a pen and a post-it-note.

"Oh, cut the assistant talk Ali" the voice snapped.

Natasha Romanov.

"Nat?" I squeak, surprised by her call "I wasn't expecting you to call"

"Obviously"

I swallowed, _damn she's in a bitter mood today…_ "What's up?"

"We need you to come in"


End file.
